Emergency Ketsana - South East Asia

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Handicap International takes emergency action

Just a few days after typhoon Ketsana swept across the Philippines, Handicap International has launched an emergency mission to provide relief for the most vulnerable. 

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, which hit the capital Manila particularly hard, Handicap International deployed an emergency team in order to provide assistance to the victims. One of our Filipino staff members describes her first-hand experience of the disaster: “Never in my life have I seen such a huge disaster, I was extremely frightened for my two children.” Over 2.2 million people have been directly affected by flooding. Our organisation, active in the islands since 1985, intends to respond to the needs of the populations located to the North of Manila, where there are currently few NGOs operating.

The intervention consists of three complementary components:
A series of DVFP (Disability and Vulnerability Focal Points) will be set up with the aim of identifying the weakest and most isolated people in order to provide them with specific support, or to refer them to adapted structures. Displaced populations are currently sheltering in schools, gymnasiums and public buildings, with less than satisfactory levels of hygiene. It is therefore vital that we reach out to these people, assess their needs and provide them with direct assistance.

The emergency team will complete this intervention by taking on the running of accommodation centres for the affected populations, to organise and improve living, hygiene and safety conditions. They will also ensure that the families taken in are provided with suitable conditions. Hygiene kits will be distributed to the displaced. This is a vital necessity in the areas worst hit by the typhoon, where the lack of drinking water is becoming a serious problem, and the dense concentration of people is a cause for  concern as regards potential outbreaks of epidemics.

Handicap International will also work to remove debris from the secondary road network in a bid to limit the possible spread of epidemics. Whilst the main roads are already being re-opened, the rest of the road network should not be forgotten as this will allow families to leave the accommodation centres and return home. Indeed, the emergency team in Manila reports that driving conditions are extremely hazardous outside of the centre of the capital which counts 15 million inhabitants.

Typhoon Ketsana has left 246 people dead and some 320,000 people have sought shelter in evacuation centres, schools, and churches according to the official figures quoted in several media sources on Wednesday.  The flooding, the worst in 40 years, has hit Manila the hardest.

Please help directly support the emergency relief efforts of Handicap International in the Philippines. 

Donations may be made:
Online
By Phone: 0870 774 3737
By Post:
Handicap International UK
CAN Mezzanine
32-36 Loman Street
LONDON
SE1 0EH