Confusion, starvation, anger, desperation: that’s what Typhoon Haiyan’s transit has left in the Philippines’ archipelago. One week after the disaster, there is still uncertainty about the figures. In the huge Philippine emergency nothing can be taken for granted. According to UN, the official number of casualties is 4,460 but victims could be even 10,000. For its part, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of Philippines announced that 3,631 people were confirmed dead, 12,487 were injured and 1,187 are still missing.
Attendances in Tacloban, the capital of the most damaged area (the province of Leyte), have described the situation as apocalyptic. Rotting human bodies and carcasses of animals are still in the streets making the air unbreathable, while the actual landscape of the city is a huge extension of unroofed houses and ruins. Even the government buildings are abandoned.
Indeed disorganization and time are now the worst enemies of the survivors. Lack of fuel obstructs vital supplies for the population as well as the collapse of the electrical wires and the absence of potable water risk to turn the Philippine emergency into a tragedy. In this chaotic situation one of authorities’ main problems is keeping law and order: in Tacloban police have imposed an evening curfew, while the government has deployed nationwide more than 1000 soldiers to prevent robberies and riots.
Nowadays about 600,000 people need food, shelter and medicines; the refugees are about 900,000. Some regions of Philippines’ archipelago are still isolated and the communication breakdown makes the rescue operations almost impossible. “In the area of Tacloban hundreds of people crowd the airport trying to leave the city”, BBC reported yesterday.
In this dramatic context, international community’s aid is indispensable. Both financial and relief supplies are needed. British government has allocated 20m pounds for the Philippine emergency and it is sending the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, capable to transport 22 tons of goods, a team of medical experts and a RAF aircraft to the disaster-hit areas.
Similarly other countries are giving their support. Germany has released 4.5m euros (3.7m pounds) in aid. US’ contribution to the cause is about 20m dollars (12.4m pounds) plus 300 military personnel. In addition, US government has sent George Washington aircraft to the area whereas other two ships provided with amphibious vehicles should reach the devastated islands within 3 days. President Barack Obama remarked: “The friendship between USA and Philippines runs deep and when our friends are in trouble, America helps”.
Even China, despite a territorial dispute with Manila, has allocated 10m yuan (1m pounds) in relief goods. UN, through Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA ), has released 25m pounds in emergency relief funds.
Nevertheless not only governments and international organizations are operating to face the emergency in the Philippines. In the UK, the DEC, a collection of 14 of British leading aid charities, is collecting donations to provide support to the disaster-hit population. Furthermore, a Bristol citizen, Rachel Riddalm, has set up an online petition in order to devolve the 12m pounds Euromillion jackpot to the areas devastated by the Typhoon Haiyan. Up to now almost 130,000 people have signed the petition.
phot[the photos are taken from google theaustralian.com.au table (source BBC, Washington Post, Agi).]