Sa mga bansang tumulong maraming salamat Great Britain and Australia. (Admin BBU) abs-cbnnews/nation/11/10/13/world-admires-resilience-ph-pledges-aid-hope World admires resilience of PH; pledges aid, hope ABS-CBNnews Posted at 11/10/2013 1:52 PM | Updated as of 11/10/2013 1:52 PM World Bank, Australia, Britain express sympathies MANILA - Aid continues to pour into the country, with nations all over the world expressing admiration for the resilience of the Filipino people. The World Bank Group said it is already on standby to help the Philippines recover from the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda. In a statement, the World Bank said: “We are very concerned about the well-being and livelihoods of millions of people affected by the typhoon. We are following the situation very closely, not only in the Philippines, but also in Vietnam. We stand ready to help in any way we can.” The British Embassy, on the other hand, said the UKs Secretary for Overseas Development Justine Greening announced an additional package of up to £6 million (P414 million) for the humanitarian response to super typhoon Yolanda. This is on top of the P276 million already given earlier for emergency purposes. The British Embassy said the additional funds will cover, for example, “using the Department for International Developments Rapid Response Facility so partners on the ground can provide crucial humanitarian aid for up to 500,000 people including temporary shelter and access to clean water.” Greening said: “My thoughts are with the people of the Philippines, and in particular with those who have lost loved ones. Many thousands of people in remote, hard to reach communities have lost their homes and everything they own. They are living out in the open, exposed to the elements. The absolute priority must be to reach them with shelter and protection. Ambassador Asif Ahmad added: “At this most difficult time we in the UK, including the large community of Filipinos who live and work in the UK, want to show our support and encouragement for all those helping the relief efforts. This includes countries from around the world who have already offered support for the emergency response. The speed and efficiency of action in the days ahead, led by the Philippine Government and the UN, can save lives and provide security and comfort to those affected. Australia Meanwhile, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop also announced the Australian Government will provide an initial P15.5 million (A$390,500) in emergency relief supplies. Australia, as a close friend of the Philippines, is saddened by the loss of life and damage to homes and property in the wake of this tragedy, Bishop said. Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Bill Tweddell added: Australia will deploy emergency family kits which include sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, and water containers through the Philippine Red Cross, and reproductive health kits through the UN Population Fund. I admire the resilience and courage that Filipinos demonstrate under extreme pressure. Australia is coordinating with the Philippine Government and other humanitarian partners on ways Australia can further assist with this daunting relief effort, and we stand ready to provide further assistance if required. Deaths The super typhoon is believed to have killed more than 10,000 people, authorities said Sunday, which would make it the countrys deadliest recorded natural disaster. The horrifying new feared death toll from super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) came as the United States pledged military help in the relief effort and as countless survivors across a huge swathe of the country remained without aid for a third day. Ten thousand people were believed to have been killed in the worst-hit province on Leyte, regional police chief Elmer Soria told reporters in Tacloban, the devastated provincial capital. We had a meeting last night with the governor and, based on the governments estimates, initially there are 10,000 casualties (dead). About 70 to 80 percent of the houses and structures along the typhoons path were destroyed, Soria said. The scenes in Tacloban, a city of 220,000 people, and other coastal towns were reminiscent of a tsunami aftermath, with concrete slabs the only part of many homes remaining, vehicles flipped over and power lines destroyed. This is destruction on a massive scale. There are cars thrown like tumbleweed and the streets are strewn with debris, said Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, the head of a UN disaster assessment coordination team, in Tacloban. The last time I saw something of this scale was in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he said, referring to the 2004 disaster that claimed about 220,000 lives. Yolanda hit Leyte and the neighboring island with maximum sustained winds of around 315 kilometers (195 miles) on Friday, and generated waves up to three meters (10 feet) high that surged deep inland. However, while Leyte was believed to have been the worst hit, the carnage extended across a 600-kilometre stretch of islands through the central Philippines. A few dozen other deaths had been confirmed in some of these areas, but authorities admitted they were completely overwhelmed and many communities were still yet to be contacted. Were still establishing command and control through logistics and communications, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala told AFP. He said among the communities yet to be contacted was Guiuan, a fishing town of about 40,000 people on Samar island that was the first to be hit after Yolanda swept in from the Pacific Ocean. About 130 hundred kilometers to the west of Tacloban, the popular tourist islands of Malapascua appeared to be in ruins, according to aerial photographs, with people there unaccounted for so far. The coast guard commander cannot communicate with the area. They are cut off in communications and from power, regional civil defense director Minda Morante told AFP. Deadliest natural disaster on record The Philippines endures a seemingly never-ending pattern of deadly typhoons, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and other natural disasters. It is located along a typhoon belt and the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earths earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. However, if the feared death toll of above 10,000 is correct, Yolanda would be the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded in the Philippines. Until Yolanda, the deadliest disaster was in 1976, when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the Moro Gulf on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, killing between 5,000 and 8,000 people. In Washington, the Pentagon announced that US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had responded to a request from the Philippines for military aid. Secretary Hagel has directed US Pacific Command to support US government humanitarian relief operations in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda, it said. The initial focus includes surface maritime search and rescue, medium-heavy helicopter lift support, airborne maritime search and rescue, fixed wing lift support and logistics enablers. United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon also pledged that UN humanitarian agencies would respond rapidly to help people in need. Ban is deeply saddened by the extensive loss of life and devastation caused by Yolanda, said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky in a statement. – with reports from Jason Gutierrez, Agence France-Presse
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 15:40:04 +0000
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