SOS Children's Villages in the Philippines to distribute food to typhoon victims in Iloilo

24/06/2008 - SOS Children's Village Iloilo is taking immediate action and helping typhoon victims with shelter and nourishment.


A family taking shelter in the SOS Children's Village Iloilo - Photo: SOS Archives
SOS Children's Village Iloilo is providing rice, canned food-items and noodles to the 300 families in the vicinity whose houses are still under water after the typhoon Fengshen lashed the Philippines. The affected areas are still not accessible and co-workers are trying hard to reach them. The water-level in many areas are still remaining at waist-high.


About 60 families have taken shelter at the SOS Social Centre Iloilo where they are provided with the food and essential items. These families come from the communities around the SOS Children's Village Iloilo where family strengthening programmes are being implemented.



Many areas are still not accessible as the water level is too high - Photo: SOS Archives

Electricity and telephone services are still not restored in many parts of Iloilo city. Generators are pressed into service to provide power in the SOS Children's Village Iloilo.


According to the Red Cross, Iloilo is worst-hit by the fury of the typhoon and hundreds of thousands of people had to be evacuated.


Typhoon Fengshen caused devastation across much of the central Philippines. About 160 people died in flooding and landslides, while homes, bridges and roads were washed away. The typhoon has now weakened to a tropical storm and is heading north into the South China Sea.

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Western Visayas Hit the Hardest by Frank

Frank’ wreaks P1.65B damage to property

By Joel Guinto, Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:07:00 06/23/2008



MANILA, Philippines -- Typhoon "Frank" (international codename: Fengshen) wrought an estimated P1.65 billion in damage to property, officials said Monday.

Health Secretary Francisco T .Duque III, who flew with Vice-President Noli de Castro to Iloilo asses the health situation and determine the scope of damages in affected provinces, said the Western Visayas region was the hardest hit by the storm.

According to a report from the National Disaster Coordinating Council, "Frank" caused P888.55 million in damage to infrastructure and agriculture in Leyte province, and P52 million in damage to schoolbuildings in Samar Island, and Tacloban and Calbayog cities in Leyte.

In Iloilo province, 165,000 sacks of rice were destroyed after floodwaters entered a warehouse of the National Food Authority (NFA), Agriculture undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla said at an NDCC news briefing.

Duque said that, also in Iloilo, barangay (villages) Simon, San Roque, and Iping were flooded, and a dam in the municipality of San Miguel and bridges in Cabanatuan and Maasin were “heavily damaged.” Likewise, Kamandag Elementary School in the municipality of Leon was damaged after a landslide.

In Antique province, a flashflood hit Sibalom municipality and the Antique-to-Iloilo road was closed. Most evacuees in the province were staying in churches, Duque said.

Two still unidentified persons are missing in Guimaras province. The Aniway District Hospital and Federico Roman Tirador Hospital were flooded, requiring the transfer of patients to the Labunan District Hospital.

Floodwaters destroyed roads and bridges, costing P710 million, in Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), and in Western and Eastern Visayas, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported during the NDCC briefing.

In Marinduque province, 50 percent of rice lands were damaged, while 100 percent of lands planted to corn and bananas were destroyed. Another 40 percent of coconut trees were also destroyed, Fondevilla said.

But Fondevilla said the storm did not damage farm lands in Central Luzon, where the rain was even beneficial to newly-planted crops.

Duque said the Department of Health (DoH) has sent nearly P500,000 worth of drugs, medicines and other supplies to Western Visayas to augment the region’s supply.

DoH-Western Visayas is continuously monitoring the situation through a 24-hour operations center, with regular updates reported to the DoH central office and NDCC.

Meanwhile, a rapid health assessment and surveillance was conducted in Metro Manila where some 2,603 families were sheltered in 22 evacuation centers because of flooding. The DoH has also activated a regional disaster and response plan.

On the other hand, the DoH Center for Health Development in Metro Manila has prepared and distributed health advisories on communicable diseases to affected areas.



Please pray for safety and well-being of the affected families of Iloilo.

Boost Me Up! Help me win!!!

PADYAK your way to a Greener Future!

The UP Padyak Project aims to contribute to the University on its centennial celebration by responding to the threat of global warming and the environmental crisis. Started by members and alumni of the UP Mountaineers, the project is a non-profit advocacy that promotes bicycling as means of transportation and lessens dependence on fossil fuel-driven vehicles. It also aims to promote health and fitness in the campus community.

The project makes bicycles available to students at a highly affordable rate (P500/semester) which will cover rent of an easy-rider bicycle, training clinics, access to bicycle racks and cable locks.

Enrolled students in UP Diliman are eligible to join the UP Padyak Project provided they pass all the requirements of the Health Checklist and comply with the safety guidelines. Applicants must submit a photocopy of their ID, form 5 (upon completion of UP registration), and a completed application form and waiver.

The biking membership period is on a per semester basis starting on the first day of school registration to the last day of the final exams period. Please verify with the current academic calendar for the exact dates.

can you live with only 100 items?

"Stuff starts to overwhelm you," says Dave Bruno, 37, an online entrepreneur who looked around his San Diego home one day last summer and realized how much his family's belongings were weighing him down. Thus began what he calls the 100 Thing Challenge. (Apparently, Bruno is so averse to excess he can't refer to 100 things in the plural.) In a country where clutter has given rise not only to professional organizers but also to professional organizers with their own reality series (TLC's Clean Sweep), Bruno's online musings about his slow and steady purge have developed something of a cult following online, inspiring others to launch their own countdown to clutter-free living.

Rainbow Warrior Tour in Iloilo!

Iloilo, all aboard!
If you would like to visit the Rainbow Warrior, please email your name and the names of your companions to supporterservices.ph@greenpeace.org by tomorrow, Friday, June 6, 2008.

The meeting point for the Open Boat Day shall be at the Climate Defenders Camp, Jaro Cathedral Grounds, Iloilo. Once there, you can look for Judy.
Reminder-- please wear closed shoes! Please see our list of activities below!

Open Boat Days:
June 7 and 8 at the Iloilo Commercial Port If you'd like to join any of the activities below, please send an email to Judy at supporterservices.ph@greenpeace.org .

Saturday, June 7 1pm to 5pm Tour of the Climate Defenders Camp Tour of the Rainbow Warrior
Sunday, June 8 8am to 12pm Tour of the Climate Defenders Camp & 1pm to 5pm

Tour of the Rainbow Warrior Side activities: 10am to 11am Greenpeace kids Kids can listen to a short talk about the environment. Kids will be given coloring sheets (RW, Simple Lang Kids, nature) After coloring, kids will be given a tour of the Rainbow Warrior 2pm to 4pm Green Café Climate Campaigner Jasper Inventor lets us in on Greenpeace's fight for clean & renewable energy. This will be followed by a tour of the Rainbow Warrior.

Thank you to everyone!