HELP RED CROSS AND UNICEF HELP VICTIMS OF NATURAL DISASTERS

[nancyk58]

Updates on 30 December 2009

 

MAYON SILENT AGAIN, BUT PHIVOLCS REMAINS CAUTIOUS

 

(12/30/2009 | 12:41 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

Restive Mayon Volcano calmed down a bit as it registered only one ash explosion Tuesday, but state volcanologists are not taking their chances.

 

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director Renato Solidum Jr. said other signs still point to magma making its way up the volcano’s summit. Despite the decrease in volcanic activity, Mayon remains at alert level 4.

 

“If we are talking about explosions, we recorded only one on Tuesday but mainly it was because of cloud cover. Still, there is still lava flow coming from the volcano," Solidum said in an interview on dzBB radio.

 

Phivolcs’ 7 a.m. report said one ash explosion occurred Tuesday, and produced a dirty white ash column that rose to about 100 meters above the summit and drifted northwest.

 

But lava continued to flow down along the Bonga-Buyuan, Miisi and Lidong gullies. The lava front has reached about 5.9 km from the summit along the Bonga-Buyuan gully.

 

The seismic network recorded 16 volcanic earthquakes and 150 rock fall events related to the detachment of lava fragments at the volcano’s upper slopes.

 

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) emission rate yielded an average value of 4,397 tonnes per day (t/d).

 

“The volcano edifice remains inflated as indicated by the electronic tilt meter installed at the northeast sector of the volcano," it said.

 

Phivolcs raised the alert level for Mayon to 4 last Dec. 20, after raising it to 3 on Dec. 14.

 

Figures from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) indicate more than 47,000 people living near the danger zone are now housed in 29 evacuation centers.

 

Solidum said that even if they lower the alert level for Mayon, it will be gradual and based on careful evaluation of the potential for explosion.

 

“Even if lava is flowing from the volcano, we are closely studying the potential for explosion. For now, magma is rising up the summit. We don’t want a surprise explosion after a lull," he said.

 

The timetable for allowing residents to return to their homes will depend on arrangements with the local government, Solidum said.

 

If there are no more signs that the volcano is exploding, Solidum said Phivolcs will lower the alert level gradually.

 

- with Nikka Corsino/LBG, GMANews.TV

 

 

ALBAY OFFICIALS: EVACUEES’ DEATHS UNRELATED TO EVACUATION EFFORTS

 

(12/30/2009 | 12:27 PM - GMA News.tv)

 

Four people have been confirmed dead in evacuation centers in Albay province early this week, but local authorities have been insisting that these were not related to current evacuation efforts amid threats of restive Mayon Volcano.

 

In a radio interview Wednesday, Albay Governor Jose Salceda said the four deaths were not related to lava impact or ash fall, nor to hunger and unsanitary conditions.

 

“At least four people died but the deaths were not due to the impact of lava or to ash fall. There was also no death due to hunger or unsanitary conditions in evacuation centers," Salceda said over dzXL radio.

Salceda admits, however, that evacuation centers are congested.

 

“We admit there is congestion in the evacuation centers but the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Department of Health have been conducting continuous medical missions," he added.

 

Citing the death certificates of the fatalities, Salceda said one was an old woman who died due to a prolonged illness.

 

A second fatality was a village official who died of a heart attack [/b] “because of anxiety with stubborn evacuees."

 

He said the third, a young boy, died of parasitism or worms inside his body. The fourth, a woman, died of congestive heart failure, he said.

 

“We are not using this as an excuse. We are just approaching this scientifically. And all families of those who died will get assistance," he said.

 

Backing up Salceda’s claim was Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who said the deaths were not due to poor conditions in evacuation centers.

 

“They have had medical conditions before they were brought to the evacuation centers. Their deaths had nothing to do with their evacuation and exposure to ash fall," Duque said in a separate interview on dzXL radio.

 

He also said there has been no epidemic so far in the evacuation centers.

 

Salceda said the four deaths were “acceptable" considering that there are some 47,563 evacuees now staying in 29 evacuation centers, almost the population of a large town.

 

He said that with the province’s mortality rate of 0.72% a year, the expected mortality in the evacuation centers would have been 15.

 

- with Nikka Corsino, GMANews.TV

 

 

Church eyes adopt-a-family program for Mayon evacuees

 

(12/30/2009 | 03:04 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

The Albay Catholic Church is set to organize an adopt-a-family program to decongest public school classrooms serving as temporary shelter for displaced families in Albay.

 

Catholic officials said the 'Adopt a Family Evacuee Program' will be realized through the help of foster families from unaffected parishes, according to an article posted Tuesday night on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines' news site.

 

The announcement of the program came after Legazpi Diocese Social Action Center Director Fr. Ramoncito Segubiense attended a meeting with Albay Governor Jose Salceda and international relief agencies including United Nations Development Program, World Vision Philippines, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program, Action Against Hunger (ACF International) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

“We will talk to Catholic families to accommodate at least 500 families or 2,500 individuals in their homes," Salceda said.

 

Public schools in various parts of Albay are currently housing 47,500 evacuees from within the 8-km danger zone radius.

 

The governor is optimistic that Catholic households will accommodate the displaced families because there were already informal arrangements between relatives.

 

Segubiense said priests will talk to leaders of various mandated organizations to facilitate the identification of foster families in their respective parishes.

 

Segubiense added that the adopt-a-family program is supported by new Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon.

 

The provincial government assured that it will continue to provide the evacuees’ food requirements because they still have their “claim cards."

 

'CLASSROOM TENTS' BADLY NEEDED

Salceda is hoping more donors would give out tents that could be used as temporary classrooms. He said that classes are expected to resume this coming Monday, but the local government has not enough of such tents.

 

“We have received commitments from international NGOs for our food requirements but we have not received enough for classroom tents," the governor said in the article on the CBCP Website.

 

UNICEF has pledged 100 tents to serve as temporary classrooms for the students, who are returning to school on Monday.

 

According to Salceda, 600 tents are needed to accommodate all returning students, noting that the UNICEF has yet to deliver on its commitment.

 

- with Nikka Corsino/LBG, GMANews.TV

 

 

NO CHEER FOR GRIEVING FAMILY AT MAYON EVACUATION CENTER

 

(Sophia Dedace, GMA News.TV - 12/30/2009 | 02:26 PM )

 

CAMALIG, ALBAY — A mother quietly grieves the death of her three-year-old son inside an evacuation center in this town, unmindful of the hustle and bustle of fellow evacuees lining up for government relief goods.

 

The reality had not sunk in for forty-three-year-old Girlie Guillen, whose son Joselito died the day after Christmas, days after restive Mayon Volcano drove her family out of their home.

 

“He was vomiting before his sudden death. I still could not believe it. He was just with us during Christmas," the mother said in an interview.

 

She could not accept her youngest son’s death, as if the melancholy from spending the holidays away from home was not enough. Guillen, still dazed, would often stare at her son lying in his casket near the stage of the Baligang Elementary School.

 

“We can’t imagine how to welcome the New Year without him," Guillen said

Her family is just one of several hundreds spending the holidays inside one of 29 cramped evacuation centers in the province following a ban inside the eight-kilometer danger zone around Mayon.

 

The government has assured help for the family of Guillen, who thinks her son died after drinking contaminated water. The Camalig government, however, insists that the water being supplied to evacuees is chlorinated and safe for drinking.

 

Provincial health officials looking into Joselito’s death said the young boy had an existing medical condition and had died of a parasite.

 

“No deaths were traced to lack of, or poor quality of food or nutrition, water and shelter in the camps," said a health evaluation statement from the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.

 

A closer look at the council’s health assessment summary would show, however, that water supply at Baligang Elementary School is inadequate. About 13 faucets are needed to serve all the 2,500 evacuees, but only three are available.

 

Clean toilets are also lacking. The nine toilets available are less than a tenth of the 126 required by the World Health Organization.

 

Life goes on for others inside the evacuation center. Children oblivious to the adversity crowd the school playground, mothers tend to their infants, while fathers set up makeshift stoves on which they cook their families’ daily ration of rice, noodles and canned sardines.

 

It’s a stark contrast to Guillen’s world, which appears to have stopped. Grief-stricken, she has somehow forgotten about the hassles of being away from home, but still thinks the New Year will not bring good cheer.

 

— NPA/GMANews.TV

 

 

ANIMAL TRANSFER FROM MAYON COSTLIER THAN HUMAN EVACUATION

 

(By Sophia Dedace, GMA News.TV12/30/2009 | 09:16 AM)

 

LEGAZPI CIY, Albay – Even animals deserve to be safe, too. In fact, the Albay provincial government has spent more for their evacuation than for human evacuees.

 

To deter evacuees from returning to their homes to care for their animals, the Albay provincial government and animal welfare advocates on Tuesday started transferring animals left in Mayon Volcano’s danger zones to safer ground.

 

In Barangay Mabingit within Legazpi City's danger zone, residents herded about 20 cattle and carabaos to an embarkation area where trucks were waiting to bring them to an evacuation camp. Some animals resisted by unfamiliar handlers and were forcibly taken.

 

Workers from Albay’s Agriculture Rehabiliation (Agri-Rehab) office marked the animals so that their owners could distinguish them.

Tuesday’s evacuation was only a test run, according to Dick Green, disaster relief manager of the US-based International Fund for Animal Welfare.

 

On Thursday, his group and the Agri-Rehab office plan to bring to safety some 2,014 carabaos, 1,793 cows, and 4,640 dogs from five municipalities and three cities in Albay under threat from Mayon’s impending eruption.

 

Green said chicken and pigs would not be evacuated because they are expected to be sold by owners before they are rescued.

 

Albay Governor Joey Salceda said they have allotted P11 million for the evacuation of the animals, a far cry from the P3 million the government has spent for the evacuation of more than 47,500 residents. The animal evacuation is requiring more trucks and labor.

 

The animals evacuated on Tuesday would be taken to the Mayon Riviera, a sprawling 28-hectare property two kilometers away from Mayon’s eight-kilometer danger zone.

 

Agri-Rehab head Romulo Elvira Jr. said the government has prepared tents and pens to house the animals. They would be fed daily by veterinarians.

 

- GMANews.TV

 

 

EARLY MORNING QUAKES ROCK SURIGAO DEL SUR

 

(12/30/2009 | 09:10 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

A MAGNITUDE-5.2 QUAKE and a MAGNITUDE-5 AFTERSHOCK rocked parts of Surigao del Sur province in Mindanao early Wednesday morning but state seismologists do not expect the tremors to have damage to property.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the first quake hit at 6:14 a.m., and traced the epicenter to 122 km northeast of Tandag, Surigao del Sur.

 

The quake was tectonic in origin and was felt at Intensity II in Surigao City, Phivolcs said.

 

An aftershock was felt at magnitude 5 at about 6:35 a.m., with the epicenter at 118 km northeast of Tandag, Surigao del Sur.

 

The aftershock was also felt at Intensity II in Surigao City.

 

Phivolcs warned of more possible aftershocks following the quakes.

 

- LBG, GMANews.TV

[nancyk58]

UPDATES ON 31 DECEMBER 2009

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE READING THIS.

 

ON NEW YEAR'S EVE, EVEN MAYON EVACUEES WILL PARTY

 

(By Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV - 12/31/2009 | 02:08 PM )

 

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – For the past two weeks, Aiza Alonto has been bored while feeling caged in a cramped classroom in Bagumbayan Elementary School in Legazpi City, one of several evacuation camps for the 47,000 or so residents inside Mount Mayo's danger zone.

But tonight, she's going to party.

 

The Albay government on Thursday night is set to stage a concert in the provincial capitol’s Astrodome to help displaced residents usher in 2010 with hope. Albay Governor Joey Salceda said the event is part of the government’s effort to attend to the evacuees’ psychosocial well-being.

 

“The concert is exclusively for evacuees," Salceda said, showing the concert ticket to reporters.

 

The concert will feature three local bands, namely Power Beat, Cast of Clowns, and Tremor. He said the government tried to get more prominent artists, but they were not available.

 

Even Lola Natividad, 82, would attend the concert if only she were not suffering from arthritis.

 

The concert is expected to draw about 4,000 of the 47,000 locals taking refuge in evacuation camps.

 

‘Excited’ for New Year

The evacuees in Bagumbayan Central School remain optimistic about the year ahead, despite coping with a limited daily ration of food and water.

Aiza Alonto said she and her family are better off living in the evacuation camp than in their home in Barangay Buyuan.

 

Cheska, 7, said she enjoys life in the evacuation center because she can play with more children. The government has also given them toy horns so they can greet the New Year with their own noise-making sans firecrackers, as many anticipate any day now nature's bang from the majestic mountain that dominates the landscape.

 

- HS, GMANews.TV

 

 

5-6 DEBT COLLECTORS CAUGHT IN EMPTY MAYON DANGER ZONE

 

(2/31/2009 | 01:13 PM -GMA News.TV)

 

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – An imminent volcanic eruption is one way to avoid debt collectors.

 

Two Indian nationals, both engaged in the so-called "5-6" lending business, were briefly held Thursday morning after they were caught inside Mayon Volcano’s eight-kilometer danger zone looking for residents who owed them money. But everyone had already been evacuated.

 

Task Force Mayon spokesperson Captain Razaleigh Bansawan said Gupreet Singh and Sawarn Singh were discovered by roving soldiers in Barangay Bunga in Legazpi City.

 

They were taken to the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council office to be presented to Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, but they declined to talk to reporters.

 

The two, who also sold umbrellas, were eventually released and warned that they would be formally charged if they were seen again in areas now off-limits to humans.

 

- Sophie Dedace, GMANews.TV

 

MAGNITUDE-5.5 QUAKE ROCKS MINDANAO

 

(2/31/2009 | 06:11 AM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

A magnitude-5.5 quake rocked parts of Mindanao Wednesday night but state seismologists said there was no damage to property reported so far.

 

Radio dzBB cited a Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) report indicating the quake was recorded at 7:17 p.m.

 

The quake was tectonic in origin and its epicenter was traced to 74 km southeast of Mati in Davao Oriental.

 

It was felt at Intensity IV in Davao City, and Intensity III in Koronadal City, Digos City, and Don Marcelino in Davao del Sur province; and Intensity II in General Santos and Tagum Cities.

 

While Phivolcs said there was no damage to property, it warned of aftershocks in the area.

 

The United States Geological Service (USGS) said the quake was recorded at 7:17 p.m. and measured magnitude 5.4.

 

USGS said the quake's epicenter was 100 km southeast of Davao; 130 km east-northeast of General Santos; 205 km south of Hinatuan; or 1,065 km south-southeast of Manila.

 

But USGS said a magnitude-4.6 aftershock was recorded at 7:38 p.m. with the epicenter at 125 km east-southeast of Davao, 170 km east-northeast of General Santos, and 195 km south of Hinatuan, or 1,080 km southeast of Manila.

 

Meanwhile, the USGS said a magnitude-5.4 quake was recorded off Eastern Visayas Wednesday afternoon.

 

It said the quake was recorded at 3:48 p.m., with the epicenter traced to 65 km southwest of Guiuan in Samar; 80 km south-southeast of Tacloban in Leyte; 90 km north of Surigao; or 650 km southeast of Manila.

 

LBG, GMANews.TV

 

 

Power and water supplies cut in Mayon danger zone

 

(by Sophia Dedace, GMA News.TV12/31/2009 | 04:45 AM

 

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – A full moon and fiery lava cascading down Mount Mayon's slopes will be the only sources of light in the danger zone belt surrounding the rumbling volcano on New Year's eve, as Albay Gov. Joey Salceda ordered power to be cut off to compel residents to stay out.

 

Around 20 percent of residents are still insisting on staying inside the eight-kilometer danger zone, a circumferential area around the foothills of Mayon, according to the provincial government. Some residents sneak back in from evacuation centers to look after their crops and homes. Many animals in the zone have already been evacuated along with people.

 

Starting Wednesday night, the National Power Corporation (Napocor) and local power utility Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) cut off the supply of electricity in the volcano’s eight-kilometer danger zone.

 

A news report aired over dzBB on early Thursday also said that the water supply will also be cut off. Earlier, an advisory from the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council had warned that water and delivery of other services would also be suspended in the coming days, part of the government's effort to compel residents to comply with the ban on human activity inside the danger zones.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, Salceda said the government would intensify its crackdown on “hardheaded" residents who still defy government orders, especially because New Year’s eve celebrations involve additional risks from firecrackers, the firing of guns, and drunken behavior.

 

"Our cutoff of power means we are serious in making sure no one gets hurt and residents have a happy New Year away from danger," Salceda said in an interview on dzXL radio.

 

CHR gave go-signal

Salceda also said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has given them clearance to forcibly evacuate the residents.

 

“The CHR sees no legal or human rights basis to object to such emergency measures so long as they are carried out in a manner that is respectful of the dignity of persons," read an advisory from the Commission.

 

In a press briefing, Salceda said he no longer sees any reason why the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology’s (Phivolcs) order banning human activity within the eight-kilometer danger zone should not be followed.

 

“We already supplied them with fuelwood. We also evacuated their animals. We increased the water supply per camp," Salceda said.

 

He noted that the government has purchased about P510,000 worth of firewood and has allotted P11 million for operational and maintenance costs for animal evacuation in three cities and five towns threatened by imminent Mayon’s eruption.

 

A total of 720,000 liters of water per day have also been made available for the 32 evacuation centers, he added.

 

To help the residents cope with having to welcome the New Year away from home, the Albay government has prepared more than 10,000 media noche packs and even a concert for the evacuees.

 

No time to relax

State volcanologists likewise warned that Mayon may have gone into a “lull," showing a decrease in volcanic activity, but Alert Level 4 remains hoisted because of the remaining threat of a hazardous explosion of pyroclastic materials, which poses a bigger danger than lava flows.

 

Earlier, Phivolcs director Dr. Renato Solidum said other signs still point to magma making its way up the volcano’s crater at the summit.

 

Julio Sabit, Phivolcs spokesperson and science research specialist, also said the full moon on January 1 could help intensify volcanic activity.

 

Statistically, there are such instances of eruptions during full moons, Sabit said. The chances of a full moon itself causing an eruption are very minimal, he explained, but it could trigger one if the volcano is already about to erupt.

 

JV/HS, GMANews.TV

[nancyk58]

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES - SOUTHEAST ASIA ON 1 JANUARY 2010

 

RESTIVE MAYON GOOD FOR TOURISM, BAD FOR FARMERS

 

(By Sophia Dedace, GMA News.TV12/31/2009 | 09:33 PM)

 

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – As the countdown to the New Year begins, Embarcadero de Legazpi teems with tourists. With a towering view deck that offers visitors a spectacular view of a smoldering Mayon Volcano, this commercial establishment built near the Legazpi sea port is only one of the attractions thriving from the volcano's imminent eruption.

 

“Yesterday, I went to the spa and tried different restaurants," said a Japanese tourist. Nearby, a coaster packed with foreigners passes by. A flea market in the heart of the provincial capitol is filled to the brim with shoppers.

 

With the 76,000 tourists that poured into the province this month – most of whom came when Alert Level 3 status was raised last December 14 – it is not surprising that businesses are cashing in on the biggest surge in Albay’s tourism history.

 

“Our hotels, even the smaller ones, are getting fully booked. Flights and buses get higher load factors, but higher tricycle ridership is the one that gives the locals real monetary benefit. Turo-turo, restaurants, malls, bars – even night clubs too – are flourishing," said Albay Governor Joey Salceda.

 

Arnold Borras, a tricycle driver plying the Legazpi-Daraga route, said he has been working more than 20 hours a day in the past two weeks due to the influx of tourists. A tricycle ride costs P30 to P35 while van rentals cost P2,500 to P4,000 per day depending on the distance and duration of the travel.

 

Bicolana Iya Calamian complains that she had a hard time booking a flight to Albay, but made it on time to welcome the New Year with her family in Daraga.

 

Salceda said that the tourism boom created a “spillover effect" on other tourist attractions the provincial government is promoting, including the Misibis Bay resorts and the Tiwi and Manito geothermal plants.

 

The governor, who is also President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s economic adviser, estimates that tourists spend nearly P2.4 million a day in his province.

 

’Economically disrupted’

But if Mayon’s impending eruption has boosted tourism in the province, it has crippled the livelihood of locals forced to evacuate because they live within the volcano’s danger zone. “The evacuees are the most heavily affected, especially those whose sources of income are lost," Salceda said.

 

Farida Ahmad had to close her souvenir shop built near the famous Casagwa ruins with a gorgeous view of the volcano. Now, she is struggling to find means to feed her six children.

 

Farmers from Barangay Mabingit in Legazpi City had to “surrender" their cows and carabaos to authorities so they could also be transferred to safer ground.

 

Salceda said that millions of pesos worth of crops will be lost because farmers can no longer tend to them.

 

He added that about 4,000 residents permanently relocated from danger zones are the most badly hit.

 

“I had to pull out their sources of income in prioritizing their safety. They had to live elsewhere, but their farms are still there," he said. The governor, however, said he has yet to estimate the amount of revenues lost by the displaced residents.

 

Mayon’s eruption may have its economic benefits, but Salceda stresses that “disaster tourism" is not part of the government’s development program.

 

“The sudden surge of tourists is an unintended consequence of a volcanic eruption. Disaster tourism is neither encouraged, promoted nor sponsored by the provincial government," he stressed, adding that it would be better if tourists go to the province without expecting an eruption.

 

GMANews.TV

 

 

THE TOP 10 NEWS STORIES OF 2009

 

(Sophia Dedace & Johanna Camille Sisante, GMA News.TV - 12/31/2009 | 03:43 PM)

 

The year 2009 shocked the public. A novel virus swept the world into a health-conscious frenzy and caused at least 11,000 deaths globally. The Philippines’ icon of democracy passed away, uniting the country one more time and suddenly ushering her son into the presidential race. A brutal massacre enraged the Filipinos so much that many of them did not seem to mind the declaration of the dreaded martial law for the first time since the 1986 ouster of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. 2009 was the year of the unfamiliar, the unprecedented, the historic.

 

Maguindanao massacre

In the annals of political violence in the Philippines, the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao is unparalleled in its ruthlessness. On a Monday morning, Buluan Vice Mayor Toto Mangudadatu sent his wife, accompanied by female clan members and lawyers, to file his certificate of candidacy in Shariff Aguak on his behalf. Around 30 local journalists covered the unprecedented gubernatorial bid, which did not sit well with the rival Ampatuan clan that has long lorded over the province and is notorious for running a large private army. On the road going to the Comelec office, at least 161 armed men intercepted the convoy and led the hapless civilians to a hillside, where they were brutally killed. Several witnesses have said Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. was at the massacre scene, firing at the victims and making sure they were dead. Andal Jr. and several members of the Ampatuan clan are facing multiple murder charges for the mass slaughter of 57 people in the worst election-related violence in the country.

 

The passing of Tita CoryAugust was the month the country turned yellow. After more than a year of battling colon cancer, former President Corazon Aquino passed away on August 1. Her death saw the outpouring of support from Filipinos, who turned out in droves to pay their last respects to the woman who championed democracy after the two-decade tyrannical rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Her wake drew high-profile figures from the international community, who were inspired by the woman in the yellow dress. The transfer of her casket from a school stadium in Quezon City to the Manila Cathedral – a route that traversed major points in Metro Manila – took five hours. Her funeral cortege lasted more than eight hours as hundreds of thousands of supporters converged on rain-soaked streets, chanting “Cory, Cory!" and showering confetti on her flag-draped casket. Mrs. Aquino’s funeral is considered the public’s biggest sendoff since her husband Ninoy was laid to rest in August 1983.

 

 

ONDOY AND PEPENG

TROPICAL STORM ONDOY (Ketsana) dumped more than A MONTH’s worth of RAIN IN just 12 HOURS, triggering the WORST FLOODING to hit the Philippine capital and neighboring provinces IN MORE THAN 40 YEARS. Barely had the country recovered when TYPHOON PEPENG (PARMA) pummeled NORTHERN LUZON a week later. The twin calamites left a trail of DESTRUCTION – HUNDREDS were KILLED, MILLIONS were DISPLACED, and an estimated $4.4 billion worth of damage was reported. But the extent of devastation became more evident from images of flood-inundated and mud-covered homes, people wading in knee- to chest-deep floods, and throngs of people desperately scrambling for food. Despite the grim situation – FOUR SUBSEQUENT STORMS hit the country within the next month – the disasters saw the heroism of Filipinos and sparked the SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM in many places.

 

A(H1N1) flu

As it was new and unfamiliar, "swine flu" became one of the most feared diseases in 2009 despite its relatively mild nature. On June 11, the World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic — the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections rose in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and other places. Countries all over the world scrambled to detect cases of Influenza A(H1N1) infection, and the Philippines was no exception. When the first Asian fatality turned out to be a 49-year-old Filipina who had a pre-existing heart disease, stores ran out of face masks and rubbing alcohol as the public went panic buying to protect themselves from A(H1N1) infection. The virus did not die down, but the panic over its spread eventually ceased as public knowledge about the disease increased.

 

Election fever

A month after Mrs. Aquino succumbed to colon cancer, Liberal Party president Senator Mar Roxas announced that he was dropping his presidential ambitions to give way to her only son Senator Noynoy Aquino, who was asked by several groups to follow his mother’s footsteps. Noynoy eventually heeded the clamor, joining other presidential aspirants such as Senator Manuel Villar Jr. and former president Joseph Estrada, who will again run for president despite legal questions. Meanwhile, Senator Francis Escudero announced that he would not be running for any post at all, despite his relatively high survey ratings early on. The political landscape became more interesting when President Arroyo finally ended speculation over her political plans and declared that she will seek a House seat for Pampanga's second district once she steps down in 2010.

 

Martial law in Maguindanao

Filipinos swore "never again to martial law" when they ousted Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, and many have since trooped to the streets over the slightest hint of possible authoritarian rule. Interestingly enough, Mrs. Arroyo's declaration of martial law in Maguindanao following the November 23 massacre in the province was not met with massive protests, although several political personalities slammed Proclamation No. 1959 as an unnecessary show of force. The declaration prompted the two chambers of Congress to convene into a joint session, the first in history, to decide whether they would revoke the edict. However, the Senate and the House of Representatives never got to vote on the matter, as Mrs. Arroyo lifted martial law eight days after the proclamation.

 

Con-ass

On June 2, majority of the members of the House of Representatives did what previous Congresses have failed to do: it approved a charter change measure, House Resolution 1109, which called on Congress to convene into a constituent assembly that would amend the 1987 Constitution. Many Filipinos are averse to the idea of amending the Constitution under the Arroyo administration, the bad memories from the Marcos era still fresh in their minds. Critics slammed Mrs. Arroyo’s manipulation of the lower house, which "railroaded" the resolution’s approval by cutting short the interpellation of opposition lawmakers, and various sectors joined huge protests condemning the move. HR 1109 has been gathering dust in the House, as the Senate has not acted on it.

 

Lavish dinners

Mrs. Arroyo's July 30 meeting with US President Barack Obama was overshadowed by news of her lavish dinners with her entourage. The dinner at the posh Le Cirque restaurant in New York reportedly cost $20,000 (P960,000), considered by many as an obscene amount considering that the world was still reeling from the global financial crisis. Public outrage was further fueled when news leaked out that Mrs. Arroyo’s entourage had a $15,000 dinner at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Washington DC. Two lawmakers, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, allegedly paid for the New York and Washington dinners, respectively. Nevertheless, Mrs. Arroyo received severe criticism for the dinners, as they were reported at a time when the Philippines was mourning the death of former president Corazon Aquino, who was known for her modest lifestyle.

 

Kidnappings: ICRC, Fr. Sinnott, and teacher Canizares

In the afternoon of January 15, three International Committee of the Red Cross volunteers went to the Sulu provincial jail in Patikul town to inspect a water sanitation project. Mary Jean Lacaba, Andreas Notter, and Eugenio Vagni were intercepted by armed men from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group near the provincial capitol in Jolo. The bandits released Lacaba on April 2 while Notter escaped on April 18. Vagni was released on July 12. In October, MILF rebels kidnapped Irish priest Michael Sinnott in Lanao del Norte. The missionary was released a month later, on the day US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton arrived in the Philippines for a short visit. But public school principal Gabriel Canizares was not as lucky as the other kidnap victims. On November 9, Canizares’ severed head was found at a gas station in Sulu.

 

Suicide of Ted Failon’s wife

“Papa, I’m so sorry. Gustung-gusto ko ang magsabi sa iyo ng totoo pero hindi ko po alam kung paano uumpisahan. Sobrang takut na takot ako…Sana po mapatawad mo ako, papa." This was Trinidad Etong’s note to her husband, broadcaster Ted Failon (Teodoro Etong), the night before she shot herself. On April 15, Failon found Etong slumped in their bathroom with a gunshot wound. He took her to the hospital but she died a day later. Her death was wrapped with controversy after police found the bathroom cleaned up – raising suspicions that her death was not a case of suicide. Failon’s house maids – who were charged with obstruction of justice for supposedly tampering with evidence – said they had to scrub the bathroom floor so that the couple’s youngest daughter would not see her mother’s blood. After a month-long inquiry, the NBI concluded that Etong committed suicide over financial woes. - YA, GMANews.TV

 

 

IN MEMORIAM: 2009 WAS A YEAR OF GREAT LOSS IN RP

 

(CARMELA G. LAPENA, GMANews.TV -12/31/2009 | 01:40 PM)

 

HEROES

 

Muelmar “Toto" Magallanes

 

Survived by his parents Samuel and Maria Luz, and older brother Joefran

 

The previously unknown 18-year old suddenly became famous when he lost his life in the epic floods of Ondoy in metro Manila after saving 30 people. Three-fourths of the Philippine capital went under water in the record rainfall, the worst the region had suffered in 40 years.

 

Magallanes, a strong swimmer, was able to bring his family and neighbors to higher ground in Barangay Bagong Silangan, Quezon City with the help of his brother. Their houses were submerged in the floods and Magallanes had to swim back and forth, rescuing people from their rooftops. His last rescue was a mother and her baby, who would have been swept away on the Styrofoam box they were clinging to if he had not been there.

 

“I am going to be forever grateful to Muelmar," said Menchie Penalosa, the mother of the six-month old girl, in an AFP article posted on The Age. “He gave his life for my baby. I will never forget his sacrifice." In the same story, Muelmar’s father was quoted as saying “he always had a good heart."

 

Writer Dennis Villegas quotes Maria Luz, Muelmar’s mother, as saying, "He's a very good son, always helpful and very thoughtful. Why did he have to die? I should have died, not him."

 

Magallanes was heralded as one of Time Magazine’s top ten heroes of 2009.

 

NATIONAL LEADERS

 

Corazon Aquino

 

January 25, 1933 - August 1, 2009

Cardio-respiratory arrest due to colon cancer

 

Survived by her children Maria Elena (Ballsy), Aurora Corazon (Pinky), Benigno Aquino III (Noynoy), Victoria Elisa (Viel), and Kristina Bernadette (Kris)

 

Fondly called TITA CORY, she became the first female president of the Philippines in 1986, ending the 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos. She is hailed as the mother of Philippine Democracy and was named Time Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 1986 “for her determination and courage in leading a democratic revolution that captured the world’s imagination."

 

She also topped Time Magazine’s list of significant deaths in 2009. U.S. Senator Richard Lugar wrote: “She showed that one person of modest demeanor can change history."

 

“I have led a full life. I cannot complain," Mrs. Aquino said in March 2008, when she was told that she had stage 4 cancer of the colon.

 

Thousands of supporters clad in yellow flocked to the streets to pay their last respects during the five-hour transfer of her casket from the La Salle Greenhills campus in Quezon City to the Manila Cathedral, and the eight-hour funeral cortege to the Manila Memorial Park.

 

In her late husband Ninoy Aquino’s poem “I Have Fallen in Love With the Same Woman Three Times," he calls her our “source of comfort, our wellspring of Hope."

 

GMA NEWS.TV

[nancyk58]

UPDATES ON 2 JANUARY 2010

 

MAYON EVACUEES HEAD HOME AS ERUPTION LESS IMMINENT

 

(01/02/2010 | 09:14 AM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

UPDATED 2:40pm After involuntarily spending the holidays away from home, residents are being permitted by the provincial government to start going home to the foothills of Mount Mayon after state volcanologists declared that an eruption is no longer imminent.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has lowered the alert level around Mayon Volcano from “4" to “3" early Saturday morning, noting the decreased volcanic activity recorded from Mayon Volcano. But Alert Level 3 still means Mayon is in a state of "relatively high unrest" and if it continues, an eruption is still "possible within weeks."

 

After the change in status, Albay Governor Joey Salceda ordered the partial decampment of evacuation centers, which are located mostly in public schools set to resume classes after the holidays. In an earlier interview, Salceda said that he will allow 7,218 families or 34,482 people to return to their homes within six to eight kilometers from the volcano once the alert level is lowered to 3.

 

"If the alert level is lowered, we will allow those living within the 6-8 km area to go home," he added. The area within a six-kilometer radius from the volcano's summit is still off-limits as a "permanent danger zone."

 

Army repositions checkpoints to 7 km

The Philippine Army is repositioning its checkpoints outwards from the six-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) to a seven-kilometer radius from Mayon's crater. This is to keep evacuees who used to live within the six-kilometer danger zone from taking advantage of the decampment operations to return to their homes.

 

"We'll reposition our checkpoints at the seven-kilometer mark so that we can keep farmers from straying into the six-kilometer danger zone. Our directives are still to maintain no human activities within the six to seven kilometer danger zone, said Captain Razaleigh Bansawan, spokesman of Task Force Mayon of the 901st Brigade."

 

"The no-human-activity policy within the (six kilometer) permanent danger zone is still in place," Bansawan emphatically added.

 

About 200 military men, along with members of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) are set to transport residents living within the seven to eight-kilometer radius aboard 15 military trucks and 10 newly acquired all-terrain vehicles from Korea.

 

"Declining trend in Mayon's activity"

In its January 2 (8 am) bulletin, the Philvolcs noted "a declining trend in Mayon volcano’s activity," including no more "ash ejections" from the crater.

 

According to the Philvolcs web site, "Alert Level 3 means that there is less probability of a hazardous explosive eruption. However, the lowering of the alert level from 4 to 3 should not be interpreted that the unrest of the volcano has ceased."

 

Phivolcs had raised the alert level at Mayon to “3" last December 14 and to “4" last December 20, prompting the evacuation of around 47,000 residents in the danger zone to some 29 evacuation centers a safe distance away from Mayon.

Nikka Corsino/HS/TJD, GMANews.TV

 

 

PHIVOLCS EYES LOWERING MAYON ALERT LEVEL

 

(01/01/2010 | 02:57 PM - GMANews.TV)

 

Following a relatively uneventful New Year from restive Mayon Volcano in Bicol, state volcanologists said Friday they are considering lowering the alert level in the next few days.

 

In its January 1 morning update, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it may lower the alert level if the volcano does not act up in the “next few days."

 

“Alert Level 4 is still being maintained but if no significant event should occur during the next few days, Phivolcs-DOST shall consider the possibility of lowering down the alert level from 4 to 3," Phivolcs said in its bulletin.

 

Phivolcs had raised the alert level at Mayon to “3" last December 14 and to “4" last December 20, prompting the evacuation of around 47,000 residents in the danger zone to some 29 evacuation centers a safe distance away from Mayon.

 

Under Alert Level 3, eruption is possible within weeks and extending the danger zone in the sector where the crater rim is low will be considered. Alert Level 4, on the other hand, means a hazardous eruption is possible within days, and the extension of the danger zone to 8 km or more is recommended.

 

34,482 people might be allowed to go home

Albay Governor Jose Salceda said that if the alert level is lowered to “3," they will allow 7,218 families or 34,482 people to return to their homes within six to eight kilometers from the volcano.

 

“So long as the alert level stays as is, we will not allow anyone to go home yet," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. “If the alert level is lowered (from 4 to 3), we will allow those living within the 6-8 km area to go home," he added.

 

Extended Danger Zone still hazardous

In the meantime, Phivolcs reiterated that the Extended Danger Zone (EDZ) reaching up to 8 km from volcano’s southern sector and 7 km from the northern sector should be free from human activity.

 

The agency said that active river channels and lahar-prone areas in the southern sector should also be avoided especially during bad weather conditions or when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall.

 

“Civil Aviation Authorities must advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazards to aircrafts," it added.

 

Phivolcs said that in the last 24 hours, it detected 28 volcanic earthquakes and 91 rockfall events due to detachment of lava fragments at the volcano’s upper slopes.

 

No ash explosion was observed, while weak to moderate emission of white steam at the summit crater was seen during cloud breaks.

 

However, it said flowing lava and intermittent rolling incandescent lava fragments were observed Thursday night while sulfur dioxide emission was at 1,255 tons/day.

 

TJD, GMANews.TV

 

 

DEPED ISSUES EMERGENCY MEASURES FOR CLASSES NEAR MAYON

 

(01/01/2010 | 01:02 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

With classes due to resume next week, pupils from families evacuated from the danger zone of restive Mayon Volcano will attend “emergency classes" in the classrooms of four schools being used as evacuation centers.

 

This was one of the guidelines issued by the Department of Education’s Legazpi City division, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said Thursday.

 

“Pupil evacuees will hold emergency classes from noon to 6 p.m. Classes will return to normal once the (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) announces for the return of evacuees to their own places," the NDCC said in its 7 a.m. Thursday update.

 

It added the pupil-evacuees will follow their usual morning-afternoon schedule at the evacuation center once classes resume.

 

During classes, “the rest of the room occupants (evacuees) will stay in the tent(s) outside the rooms being used as classrooms," the NDCC said.

The guideline applies to Albay District, Albay Central School, Buyuan Elementary School, and Matanag Elementary School.

 

In Bugtong Elementary School, pupil evacuees will be integrated with pupils there as the number of children is “manageable" with the regular schedule of classes.

 

At Legaspi Port District II Gogon Central Schools and San Roque Elementary School, emergency classes will be held with an emphasis on content subjects for 250 minutes.

 

Classes there will start from 6:30 a.m. to noon. Occupants of the room will go out to give way to those holding classes.

 

The DepEd Albay’s initial plan was to accommodate the displaced children at big central schools, and hold double shift classes in the host schools.

 

Displaced teachers from affected schools will be tapped to assist the teachers at the “host" schools.

 

As of 7 a.m. Thursday, the NDCC said there were 10,032 families or 47,563 people staying in 29 evacuation centers.

 

GMANews.TV

 

 

Text TV of the German channel ZDF = ZDF Text brought the news item of most Mayon evacuees being allowed to go home after 3 weeks in evacuation centres. 45,000 people are transported back. They are also given food for 3 days and some cash. Only 3,000 are continuing their stay in the evacuation centers because they are living within the 6 km zone of the volcano. ZDF text

[nancyk58]

UPDATES ON 3 JANUAR 2010

 

3 PRIORITIES SET FOR MAYON EVACUEES AFTER DROP IN ALERT LEVEL

 

(01/03/2010 | 09:17 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

Maintaining cleanliness in evacuation centers and normal resumption of classes top the priorities of the Albay provincial government on the first working day of 2010, two days after state volcanologists lowered the alert level around restive Mayon Volcano.

 

Albay Governor Jose Salceda also said a third priority would be to have provincial officials assess the extent of damage or disruption to the livelihood of residents evacuated from their homes since December 14.

 

“We will focus on three big things on Monday. First is cleanup. Second is damage assessment at the evacuation centers and villages. Third is ensuring regular classes will resume for both evacuees and students of evacuation classrooms," Salceda said in an interview on dzBB radio.

 

This developed as Malacañang lauded the Albay provincial government for ensuring zero casualty in responding to the threat of Mayon.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council under Salceda lived up to Palace expectations of efficiency.

 

"The PDCC headed by Governor Salceda lived up to our expectation. We have always considered the PDCC in Albay to be one of the best and most efficient in the country," Remonde said on government-run dzRB radio.

 

Some 47,000 people spent Christmas and New Year in some 29 evacuation centers in the province after Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the alert level to “4" last December 20.

 

The alert level was lowered to “3" last Saturday as Phivolcs noted a drop in the volcano's activity in the past days.

 

Salceda said the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is now cleaning up the evacuation centers and schools, while children at the schools had been trained to clean the classrooms.

 

He also said he would wait for the report of the municipal agriculturist on damage to agriculture, and the local social works department to report on damage to houses.

 

Salceda also commended the PDCC for ensuring zero casualty since the evacuation began last Dec. 14, when Phivolcs raised the alert level at Mayon to “3."

 

At least four people from the evacuation centers died, but Salceda said the deaths were not related to conditions at the evacuation centers.

 

KBK, GMANews.TV

 

 

96% OF MAYON EVACUEES DECAMPED – ALBAY GOV

 

(SOPHIA M. DEDACE, GMANews.TV01/03/2010 | 11:50 AM)

 

A day after state volcanologists reduced Mayon Volcano’s danger alert level, the Albay provincial government has so far sent home 45,000 of the 47,000 evacuees. Governor Joey Salceda on Sunday said only 2,322 from 510 families are in temporary shelters.

 

The remaining evacuees are those living in the six-kilometer-radius permanent danger zone and in the seven-kilometer extended danger zone in Mayon's southeast flank. This includes barangays (villages) in Legazpi City and in Daraga and Camalig towns.

 

Salceda earlier said the government found it more difficult to “decamp" evacuees who have relied on the government for daily food rations and health assistance than those who did not depend on any aid.

 

“Even with entitlements and enticements, many families found value in food and health security in their camps, tempering their natural predisposition for going home," Salceda said.

 

But on Sunday, Salceda said the government was able to convince the residents to return home through the “early recovery package, which consists of the following: 15 kilograms of rice per family for three days of ration, P1,400 in cash-for-work and livelihood programs, and P15-million farm rehabilitation package for affected agricultural communities.

 

Salceda said they had to assure the residents that the government would help them turn back to normalcy after almost 21 days of displacement. “They are Mayon victims whether in the camps or in their homes. Thus, they need the assistance of the state and the community wherever they are," Salceda said.

 

Last Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology lowered Mayon Volcano's warning level to Alert Level 3, prompting the Albay government to send majority of the evacuees home because an eruption is less imminent.

 

Those in the six-to-seven kilometer danger zones still have to take temporary shelter in evacuation camps.

 

About P55.4 million has been spent for evacuees in the past two weeks, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

 

LBG, GMANews.TV

[nancyk58]

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION ON 4 JANUARY 2010

 

PERMANENT RELOCATION OF MAYON's 6-KM ZONE RESIDENTS EYED – GOV

 

(01/04/2010 | 06:07 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

The government of Albay province plans to permanently relocate more than 2,000 people who reside within Mayon Volcano's six-kilometer permanent danger zone, Governor Joey Salceda said on Monday.

 

This, even after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs)

lowered the volcano’s alert level from 4 and 3 last Sunday.

 

“We are after preserving their dignity as the conditions in evacuation centers are different," Salceda said in a phone interview.

 

About 2,322 people or about 510 families would be transferred from the evacuation areas to the resettlement sites as soon as the local government gathers enough money to fund the relocation, according to the governor.

 

Evacuees from upper barangay Pandag in Legaspi City would be transferred to barangay Taysan, while those from barangay Bañadero in Daraga would be moved to barangay Anislag, he said. Evacuees from barangay Anoling in Camalig town, meanwhile, would be transferred to barangay Baligang, he added.

 

In a separate phone interview, Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said the move was a “better option" as it was “more viable" in terms of disaster management.

 

As of press, Solidum said the alert level of Mayon remains hoisted at number 3 but Phivolcs is closely monitoring the volcano’s activities that could lead to the further lowering of alert levels.

 

Salceda tried to allay residents’ fears, saying they have nothing to worry because there are already available lots for the families and that the government would assist them in building core shelters. He added that resettlement areas have already “integrated eco-systems" and ample assistance, which include livelihood program, would be provided to the residents.

 

The transfer has yet to start, Salceda said, and the government is still studying options whether to let school children finish this school year before it begins.

 

Aie Balagtas See/JV, GMANews.TV

 

 

 

NDCC: P55.4M SPENT FOR MAYON EVACUEES IN TWO WEEKS

 

(01/03/2010 | 09:23 AM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

At least P55.37 million was spent for some 47,000 people evacuated from the danger zones around restive Mayon Volcano in the last two weeks, before state volcanologists lowered the alert level and allowed displaced families to go home.

 

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said the amount includes assistance from the National Government, local government units and nongovernment organizations (NGO).

 

Of the amount, P9.31 million came from the NDCC. Another P4.88 million came from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, P6.92 million from the Department of Health, P32.88 million from local government units and P1.39 million from NGOs.

 

More than 47,000 people were evacuated from danger zones since the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the alert level there to 3 last December 14.

 

Phivolcs raised the alert level to 4 last December 20, but lowered the alert level on Saturday after noticing lowered activity from Mayon in past days.

 

As of 6 p.m. on Friday, the NDCC said 10,032 families or 47,563 people were staying in 29 evacuation centers.

 

The DSWD distributed rice, family food packs, noodles, blankets, plastic mats, canned goods, water jugs, jackets, towels and sweaters to the evacuees.

 

Each displaced family will receive two kilos of high-energy biscuits from the United Nations World Food Programme.

 

Also, the DSWD's central office allotted P500,000 more as a standby fund for evacuees during the preemptive evacuation. The DSWD's Bicol office has P802,718 in standby funds and has stockpiled relief goods.

 

The DSWD likewise conducted entertainment activities as part of its psychosocial intervention program. It organized three psychosocial teams to debrief and counsel evacuees.

 

For its part, the DOH distributed drugs, medicines, face masks, emergency health kits, chlorine granules and drinking water containers. It also distributed anti-venom kits.

 

LBG/NPA, GMANews.TV

 

 

PHIVOLCS HINTS AT LOWERING MAYON ALERT LEVEL TO 2 IN FEW WEEKS

 

(01/03/2010 | 07:56 AM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

A day after lowering the alert level for Mayon Volcano from “4" to “3," state seismologists hinted Sunday they may lower alert level further down to “2" in the next few weeks.

 

But Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) head Renato Solidum Jr. said it is still too early to relax, and that residents should be ready if Mayon acts up again.

 

“If the volcano’s activity continues to decline, we may lower the alert level to 2 in the coming weeks," Solidum said in an interview on dzBB.

 

He said they will still have to observe the volcano for at least one more week.

 

Under the Phivolcs’ classification, Alert Level 3 means magma is close to the crater, and eruption is possible within weeks.

 

Alert Level 2 indicates unrest probably of magmatic origin and could eventually lead to eruption.

 

On Saturday, Phivolcs lowered the alert level to “3" from “4," decreasing the area considered danger zones from 8 km to 6 km radius from the crater.

 

However, the danger zone is at 7 km radius at the southeast portion of the Volcano.

 

Solidum also reiterated his warning to residents and tourists not to get near the volcano’s danger zone, as rockfalls are still being recorded.

 

“Rocks and lava are still falling and there are still pyroclastic flows," he said.

 

“If there is a resurgence of activity, we want our residents to be ready. Mayon is a very active volcano," he added.

 

Otherwise, he said there were few quakes and little bulging at the volcano, indicating magma is no longer going up the summit.

 

LBG, GMANews.TV

[nancyk58]

UPDATES ON 5 JANUARY 2010, part I

 

2 KILLED IN NEW YEAR's DAY LANDSLIDE IN DINAGAT ISLANDS

 

(01/05/2010 | 09:43 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

TWO people were KILLED while two others were injured after LANDSLIDES caused by HEAVY RAINS hit a village in Cagdianao town in Dinagat Islands last New Year's Day.

 

Citing belated reports, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) on Tuesday said the landslides also affected 100 families or 925 people. At least 20 families or 100 people were forced to stay at the village gym.

 

Cagdianao is a fourth-class town with a population of 12,886 people in 2,554 households.

 

In its report Tuesday, the NDCC identified the fatalities as May Dence Sibunga, 8; and Rodelio Sibunga, 7. It did not name the injured people.

 

At least eight houses were destroyed, the NDCC said. Damage to property - including wooden bridge and culverts and mangroves - was estimated at P1.3 million.

 

"As of reporting time, power lines are still cut off in Cagdianao," the NDCC said.

 

The NDCC said the Cagdianao Mining Corp. allowed its heavy equipment to be used to clear boulders and debris in affected areas.

 

- KBK, GMANews.TV

 

 

MAYON VOLCANIC ACTIVITY DECLINES, BUT RESIDENTS STILL WARY

 

(01/05/2010 | 01:07 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

Even as volcanic activity at Mayon Volcano continues to decline, some evacuees who have returned to their homes expressed fears over living around the restive volcano once more.

 

In its 7 a.m. bulletin on Tuesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it recorded only three volcanic quakes and 21 rockfall events in the last 24 hours.

 

"Steaming activity and crater glow were not observed due to thick clouds that covered the summit crater," the Phivolcs said.

 

On Monday, the Phivolcs' seismic monitoring network detected seven volcanic earthquakes and 33 rockfall events related to the detachment of lava fragments at the volcano’s upper slopes.

 

The Phivolcs lowered the alert level for Mayon from "4" to "3" last January 2 and allowed the return of several evacuated families to their homes. According to Albay Governor Joey Salceda, 96 percent of the 47,000 evacuees have returned to their homes.

 

Despite the lower alert level for Mayon, some residents fear the continuing volcanic activity, a report by GMA News' Cedric Castillo over Unang Hirit said.

 

"Sometimes we get scared when the wind is warm, and if the lava flow is strong. The first night we were here, the lava glowed so bright," said one resident who has returned to her home outside the Permanent Danger Zone.

 

Even though it has lowered the alert level, the Phivolcs said the public should remain on alert against sudden explosions that may generate hazardous volcanic flows.

 

"People residing close to these danger areas are also advised to observe precautions associated with post-eruption activity, such as rockfalls, pyroclastic flows, and ash fallout which can also occur anytime due to instabilities of lava deposited on steep slopes," it said in its bulletin.

 

Alert Level 3 remains in effect over Mayon, which means that the 6-km radius Permanent Danger Zone around the volcano and the 7-km Extended Danger Zone on the southeast flank of the volcano should be free from human activity.

 

According to Capt. Razaleigh Bansawan, spokesman for the Joint Task Force Mayon, there are currently 11 checkpoints within the danger zone.

 

In a text message to reporters, Bansawan said eight checkpoints manned by the Philippine Army covers the southeast, southwest, and northwest sectors while three checkpoints within the east and northeast section of Mayon Volcano are manned by elements of the Albay provincial police.

 

Bansawan said Salceda has ordered the task force to "intensify its checkpoints and security patrols to deny the entry of tourists and their local guides as well as farmers" in the Permanent Danger Zone.

 

The Phivolcs said civil aviation authorities should continue advising pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazards to aircraft.

 

- with a report from Jam Sisante/RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV

 

 

 

Text TV on 4 January 2010: 2 earthquakes hit the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, North-East of Australia. Tremors destroyed a considerable number of houses and triggered a minor tsunami that did not cause much damage. AP

[nancyk58]

Update of the situation in the Philippines - 5 January 2010, part II

 

http://drk.dk/nyheder/nyheder/tyfonofre+evakueret+p%c3%a5+tredje+maaned

(website for Dansk Røde Kors, DRK = DANISH national RED CROSS)

 

Typhoon victims have now been evacuated for three months

 

Many houses in the Philippines are still under water after the typhoon "Ketsana" hit the country in October 2009. 300 families in the province "Laguna" are still living in evacuation centers and cannot return home for the time being

 

Responsible for the page: Laura Kjeldbjerg. Edited: 5 January 2010.

 

For three months Jelita Ajes has lived in an evacuation center with her husband, children and grandchildren. They would prefer to return to their homes, but it is not an option.

 

"We came here because of the typhoon "Ketsana" and have lived here ever since. Our house is still under water, and right now the water is on a level with the hip," says Jelita Ajes.

 

The family managed to get a few household items out of the house, but they lost the rest of their belongings. At the evacuation center, the family received food and other necessities from the Philippine Red Cross.

 

Lack of funds for relief efforts

 

Jelita Ajes and her family are among the many thousands who had to flee their home when four typhoons hit the Philippines in October 2009. Nearly a thousand people died, and 300,000 homes were destroyed.

 

Now many people live in tents without proper toilet facilities, and that means poor sanitation and breeding ground for diseases. In addition, the situation is worsened by the lack of money for relief efforts.

 

"Lack of funds may prevent us from helping the vulnerable groups with for instance shelter. At the moment churches and schools that have served as evacuation centers are shut down, and the residents are evicted," said Graham Saunders, the IFRC's head of housing.

 

No privacy in the evacuation center

 

The flooding after the typhoon is so violent that the river water is not expected to withdraw before February or March this year. Yet Jelita Ajes and her family members hope that they can return home soon.

 

"We will return to the house as soon as the water level falls. It is very stressful to be here. There are so many people and so many children - no privacy. But we have no choice but to stay here until we can move back to our homes," says Jelita Ajes.

[nancyk58]

UPDATES ON THE 6 JANUARY 2010

 

YOKO ONO DONATES P2.5M TO ‘ONDAOY VICTIMS

 

(01/06/2010 | 03:17 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

Yoko Ono, widow of the late Beatles member John Lennon, has donated ¥5 million or P2.5 million for the thousands of victims of Tropical Storm Ondoy (international code: Ketsana), which hit the Philippines September last year, killing hundreds. A statement from the Philippine Embassy in Japan said Ono visited the Philippine Embassy in Fujimi, Tokyo before Christmas to personally pledge the donation.

 

"[Ono] learned about the very severe and continuing conditions of the "Ondoy" victims and decided to take action. As a mother herself, she feels deep sympathy and love for suffering children," the statement read.

 

A total of 464 people were killed when Ondoy brought a record rainfall in Metro Manila and several nearby provinces on Sept. 26, 2009. Thousands were left homeless by the floods it caused.

 

Ono, an artist herself who belongs to an aristocratic family, grew up in the Fujimi manor that now houses the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo. The mansion was built by Ono’s uncle, who later sold it to the late President Jose P. Laurel.

 

After World War II, the Philippines bought the property from the Laurel family and is now called the "Jewel of the Philippines."

 

"The Fujimi residence is very close to my heart and I consider it my home sweet home in Japan. I am therefore very grateful to the Philippine government for maintaining the house in a good condition all these years," the statement quoted Ono as saying.

 

Ono and Lennon married in 1969 and collaborated on several projects. They have a son named Sean. John was shot dead Dec. 8, 1980 in New York by Mark David Chapman.

 

- Nikka Corsino/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV

[nancyk58]

http://drk.dk/nyheder/temaer/tsunamien+fem+aar+efter - DRK = Dansk Røde Kors = Danish national Red Cross

 

Five years after the tsunami

 

Five years ago an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a massive tsunami that killed around 230,000 people. A record collection enabled the Danish Red Cross' long-term work on the reconstruction, and today, living conditions in many places are better than before the tsunami.

 

Responsible for this page (edited 6 January 2010): Anne Lene Larsen Højvang

 

On 26 December 2004 an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a giant tsunami. Up to 30 meter high waves rushed over Southeast Asia and caused damage as far as Africa's east coast.

Ten countries were hit by the giant waves and around 230,000 people died and millions lost their homes.

 

The tsunami led to a record collection of money in Denmark

 

The catastrophic scale of the tsunami made a deep impression on most of Denmark. That led to the Danish Red Cross' record collection of nearly 217 million Danish Kroner of which around 154 million DKK came from the Danish people. It was an unfamiliar situation for the Red Cross being used to asking for money. Suddenly aid poured in.

 

"An important reason was the pictures from Thailand and other holiday destinations where the Danes were among the victims. Thousands died in countries such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka, but not many Western tourists - but the dead Western tourists meant that we easier than normally could understand the situation and the resulting grief, "explains Anders Ladekarl, Secretary General of the Danish Red Cross.

 

The tsunami has provided better living conditions for millions

 

Over 1.7 million people in ten different countries have received help from the Red Cross after the tsunami. We concentrated our efforts on the two countries that were hardest hit, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Here we have spent the last five years on rebuilding the tsunami-stricken areas in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. We have succeeded to such a degree that the population in many places today has better living conditions than before the tsunami struck.

"The large amount collected enabled us to plan the assistance thoroughly and over many years. We got a real opportunity to rebuild lives and give the population better opportunities than they had before. And we did," says Anders Ladekarl today.

 

Challenges for relief efforts in Sri Lanka

 

Resurgence of a civil war in Sri Lanka has made relief work difficult. Sometimes the coordination of relief efforts among the many organizations that wanted to help has also been chaotic.

"Although everything has not gone quite as planned, we are in the Red Cross now even better equipped for major disasters than before the world learned to know the word tsunami. And no doubt the populations in Sri Lanka and Indonesia in general now have better living conditions," says Anders Ladekarl.

 

Ten countries were affected

 

Indonesia: 165,000 dead

Sri Lanka: 36,000 dead

India: 16,400 dead

Thailand: 8,300 dead

Somalia: 400 dead

Maldives: 108 dead

Malaysia: 80 dead

Myanmar: 61 dead

Bangladesh

Seychelles

 

 

216 million dollars later

Not everything has gone according to plan

There was a civil war in the way

Indonesian province better today

Psychological help after the tsunami

A healthier life after tsunami

Volunteers prevent disasters

 

Support our work

Each day volunteers and staff from the Red Cross will help people affected by disasters, wars and conflicts, or otherwise living in desperate conditions. Support our work today - so we can make a difference tomorrow.

[nancyk58]

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES ON 7 JANUARY 2010

 

MAYON ACTIVITY UP ANEW; ALERT LEVEL 3 REMAINS

 

(01/07/2010 | 10:42 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

Mayon Volcano’s activity has intensified anew in the last 24 hours, but state volcanologists maintained on Thursday that alert level “3" stays.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that its seismic monitoring network recorded 20 volcanic quakes and 20 rockfall events.

 

“Weak emission of white steam at the summit crater was observed during cloud breaks. Crater glow last night was not observed due to thick clouds covering the summit. Aerial survey conducted yesterday revealed remnants of lava pile inside the crater," it said in its 7 a.m. bulletin.

 

But it added sulfur dioxide emission was lower in the last 24 hours, at 672 tons a day, compared to 1,914 tons recorded Wednesday.

 

On Wednesday, Phivolcs said its seismic system detected four volcanic earthquakes and 21 rockfall events related to the detachment of lava fragments at the volcano’s upper slopes.

 

Phivolcs lowered the alert level to “3" on Jan. 2, after raising it to “4" last December 20.

 

Alert Level 3 means the 6-km radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) around the volcano and the 7-km Extended Danger Zone (EDZ) on the southeast flank of the volcano should be free from human activity because of sudden explosions that may generate hazardous volcanic flows, it said.

 

“People residing close to these danger areas are also advised to observe precautions associated with post-eruption activity, such as rockfalls, pyroclastic flows, and ash fallout occurring anytime due to instabilities of lava deposited on steep slopes," it said.

 

Active river channels and those perennially identified as lahar-prone in the southern sector should also be avoided especially during bad weather or when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall.

 

Civil aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazards to aircraft.

 

LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV

[Macintosh]

My familiar climatologist said that this situation with Mayon will delay on whole month :/

[nancyk58]

Probably true, since nothing happened around New Year where the real eruption was expected.

[nancyk58]

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/indonesia-tsunami-feature-231209

 

INDONESIA: REMEMBERING THE TSUNAMI AND ITS AFTERMATH

 

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history, the ICRC recounts the aftermath in one of the most devastated of the tsunami-affected areas, the regional province of Nangroe Aceh Darusalam in Indonesia, or Aceh, as it is commonly known.

 

On 26 December 2004, an undersea earthquake, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, triggered a devastating TSUNAMI, inundating coastal communities with huge waves killing hundreds of thousands people. The regional province of Nangroe Aceh Darusalam (NAD) in Indonesia ended up at the heart of the tragedy.

 

From the day of the tsunami onwards, the ICRC provided the Indonesian Red Cross Society (Palang Merah Indonesia – PMI) with equipment and relief items. Because it was one of the few international organizations already active in Aceh (with means of communication, logistics and a stock of relief supplies), together with the PMI, the ICRC was able to respond immediately after the disaster struck.

 

On 28 December, ICRC delegates and PMI volunteers distributed 1,000 tarpaulins for shelters and family kits for 9,000 displaced people, containing clothing, hygiene items and food. In addition, 20 PMI branches and local hospitals received first aid kits and medical equipment to treat the wounded. Distributions then continued every day (see box Assistance provided).

 

Meanwhile, ICRC/PMI engineers continued trucking clean water and installing water tanks and sanitation facilities where they were most urgently needed. The joint teams cleaned thousands of wells, drilled boreholes, built latrines and communal washrooms and donated tonnes of chemicals to ensure safe drinking water provision. These activities took place in the northeast sector of NAD, as well as in Banda Aceh and its surroundings. Gradually, thanks to increased access to conflict-affected areas, 75 humanitarian assessments were carried out. They revealed an acute need to repair community infrastructure, improve water and sanitation conditions and boost local food production capacity.

 

ICRC/PMI teams provided medical and surgical supplies to hospitals still functioning in Banda Aceh and to ad-hoc health facilities in places where displaced people had gathered. At the request of the authorities, the teams also distributed large quantities of painkillers, antibiotics, other medicines disinfectant and medical equipment to health facilities (“Puskesmas”) in Banda Aceh and along the north coast.

 

An ICRC/PMI medical team erected a 100-bed field hospital provided by the Norwegian Red Cross to treat patients. After the closure of the hospital in May 2005, ICRC/PMI and the Norwegian Red Cross donated it to the Ministry of Health and they organized a training course for their own staff and PMI health personnel on how to redeploy the facility if need be. PMI/ICRC teams also erected a temporary camp in Lhong Raya stadium, next to the field hospital, to shelter 400 displaced patients in need of simple medical care and the relatives accompanying them.

 

The ICRC and PMI acted quickly to ensure the proper and dignified disposal of the remains of tsunami victims and helped the authorities take immediate action to reduce the health risks related to the presence of a large number of bodies strewn throughout the affected areas. ICRC specialists supported the PMI, whose volunteers undertook a remarkable effort under acute psychological strain, by organizing on-the-spot training and by providing body bags and equipment for handling bodies, and by helping to bury remains.

 

Since the main lines of communication had been disrupted by the tsunami, tens of thousands of people were anxiously searching for their relatives. They turned to the Red Cross for assistance.

 

From day one of the disaster, on 26 December 2004, ICRC/PMI tracing teams deployed the full array of technical solutions they had been trained with to restore family links. They offered various services to the public, in order to re-establish contact between the survivors isolated by the disaster and their families. Most of the visitors who contacted the ICRC and the PMI Tracing offices were looking for their children.

 

From the outset of the disaster, the ICRC also created a special section on its Geneva-based website so that people in Indonesia and elsewhere who had lost contact with their relatives could register online, provide the identity and other details concerning the relative unaccounted for or register themselves as survivors. In total, 44,300 people registered. This phase of the ICRC/PMI emergency tracing operation culminated in the publication of all these names in public places and, finally, a three-volume book distributed in early July 2005.

 

MASS GRAVES

ICRC/PMI Tracing teams surveyed 63 unmarked mass graves of tsunami victims in NAD in 2006 and assessed 300 other graves in 2007, where 97,000 tsunami victims had been buried. The ICRC/PMI Tsunami Mass-Grave Project completed its task at the beginning of 2008. Together with their colleagues on the tracing teams, ICRC/PMI teams surveyed 343 gravesites in seven districts, where 108,720 victims of the tsunami were buried, which means that less than 50% of the people reportedly killed by the tsunami have been properly buried. The ICRC and the PMI produced a 2,300-page report, which they handed over to Social Services (DINAS) and to the Governorate of Aceh, to help them address the needs of people with missing relatives.

 

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED IN NAD, BANDA ACEH AND SURROUNDINGS

 

Relief assistance

In all, 265,000 tsunami victims received essential items (hygiene products, clothing, cooking utensils, tents, tarpaulins, mats, blankets and baby parcels); 36,000 received food rations; 2,400 families were housed in ICRC tents and 120,000 people benefited from clean-up operations and received reconstruction kits (composed essentially of tools and essential items for the maintenance of adequate standards of hygiene).

 

Water and sanitation

ICRC/PMI teams cleaned 3,620 wells, drilled 5 boreholes, built 667 latrines and 42 communal washrooms and donated 154 tonnes of chemicals to ensure the provision of safe drinking water. These activities took place in the northeast sector of NAD and in Banda Aceh and its surroundings.

 

Medical assistance

The ICRC provided surgical gloves sufficient to perform 100 major operations or 200 minor operations, suture material sufficient for 100 to 120 operations, dressing material for 1,600 dressings, plaster casting material sufficient to treat 80 fractures, 18 kits of basic medicines for dispensaries and 10 sets of basic equipment for dispensaries.

 

Forensic work / management of remains

ICRC/PMI teams provided 10,500 body bags, 500 large rolls of plastic, 2,500 rubber boots, 500 helmets with lamps, 3,000 pairs of protective gloves, 3,000 facemasks, 400 shovels and 500 sets of protective clothing to PMI volunteers, troops of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and police teams mobilized to rapidly dispose of the dead bodies. Together, the PMI, the police, the armed forces and search and rescue teams collected over 105,000 corpses in the town of Banda Aceh alone.

 

Re-establishment of family links

For a six-week period starting on 26 December 2004, over 2,500 people used ICRC satellite phones to call their relatives in Indonesia or abroad free of charge, with most calls made from the west coast of Aceh. Meanwhile, ICRC/PMI tracing teams printed and distributed specially designed "I am alive" registration forms to the public throughout NAD. They collected 18,500 of these forms and in April 2005, when all other means of tracing missing persons had been exhausted, they published the names of 10,000 people seeking news from their families in local newspapers. In June, they published the names of a further 7,500 people in the same situation.

 

The third ICRC/PMI tracing activity was the registration of "persons sought." This started in January 2005, in response to a clear need; when people were filling in "I am alive" forms, they insisted on adding the names of missing family members. The "Persons Sought" form was therefore needed to ensure that tracing requests were recorded correctly and to collate the names of missing family members into lists. From January to mid-April 2005, joint ICRC/PMI teams collected 25,000 such forms throughout NAD. Children (for these purposes, anyone under 18) were by far the most vulnerable group when the tsunami hit, and made up 40% of the ICRC/PMI “Persons Sought” list.

 

Through their intensive fieldwork, ICRC/PMI tracing teams directly solved more than 3,800 cases where family links had been broken. Twenty-two children (out of 48 registered as unaccompanied) were reunited under ICRC auspices.

[nancyk58]

UPDATES ON 8 JANUARY 2010

 

MAGNITUDE-5.2 QUAKE ROCKS MINDANAO - PHIVOLCS

 

(01/08/2010 | 10:04 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

A magnitude-5.2 quake rocked parts of Mindanao Friday night, even as state seismologists warned of possible aftershocks.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake struck at 8:15 p.m. and was tectonic in origin.

 

Phivolcs traced the epicenter of the quake to 128 kilometers southeast of Mati, Davao Oriental. It said the quake was felt at Intensity III in Davao City and Intensity II in General Santos City and in Marbel, South Cotabato.

 

While no damage to property was expected from the quake, Phivolcs warned of possible aftershocks.

 

- GMANews.TV

 

 

DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI CRASHES OVER SOLOMON ISLANDS

 

(01/05/2010 | 12:12 PM - GMA News.TV)

HONIARA, Solomon Islands — Authorities in helicopters flew over remote coastlines in the Solomon Islands on Tuesday assessing the damage from a LARGE EARTHQUAKE and TSUNAMI that crashed ashore a day earlier, devastating at least one village.

 

No injuries were reported some 24 hours after the biggest in a series of quakes churned a tsunami wave that was up to 10 feet (3 meters) high as it plowed into the coast.

 

Locals said residents were lucky the event happened during the day when many people were awake and able to flee easily, and noted they were better prepared since a deadly tsunami in the region three years ago.

 

The provincial capital of Gizo was badly damaged in April 2007 when a 8.1-magnitude quake unleashed a tsunami that slammed into the island, killing more than 50 people.

 

The "general rule in villages and Gizo" is that "if there's anything more than 20 seconds of shaking or any sea water recedes, head for the hills," said dive shop owner Danny Kennedy, adding that the tsunami had not reached Gizo this time.

 

Solomon Islands' police commissioner Peter Marshall said hundreds of villagers had been affected.

 

"But it would appear that the Solomon Islands has gotten away comparatively lightly," with no deaths or injuries reported so far, he told New Zealand's National Radio.

 

A MAGNITUDE-7.2 QUAKE sent a TSUNAMI crashing into the shores of Rendova Island and nearby Tetepare Island about 9:30 a.m. local time Monday. Eight other quakes greater than magnitude 5.0 have rocked the region since.

 

A police boat and two helicopters patrolled Tuesday to check the coastline, where many homes are at sea level and close to the coast, making them vulnerable to tsunamis, said Julian Makaa, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Office.

 

"Two damage assessment teams have been sent to Rendova to walk through and conduct damage surveys, but no casualties have been reported," Makaa told The Associated Press.

 

Another disaster management official, Loti Yates, said earlier at least 16 houses were destroyed and 32 damaged in Baniata village on Rendova, an island some 190 miles (300 kilometers) from the capital Honiara, where some 3,600 people live.

 

"One report from police was that one village was hit by a 6 to 10 foot (2-3 meter) wall of sea water," Yates said. "It was a total inundation police saw in a flyover."

 

Makaa said the village, Retavo, had a population of about 20 and no deaths or injuries were reported yet.

 

One helicopter was checking the southwest coast of Rendova, where the wave could have caused serious damage, he said. A government boat arrived in the area Tuesday with emergency food, water and tarpaulins for survivors.

 

Ten foreign tourists were staying on Tetepare Island, an uninhabited eco-tourism site, and the four Germans, four Britons and two New Zealanders were evacuated.

 

The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded nine earthquakes greater than magnitude 5.0 in the region since late Sunday. The magnitude 7.2 was centered 64 miles (103 kilometers) southeast of Gizo, and followed a magnitude 6.5 tremor less than two hours earlier centered 54 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of Gizo at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers).

 

The Solomon Islands lie on the "RING OF FIRE" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur. - AP

 

 

1,000 PEOPLE HOMELESS ON SOLOMONS AFTER TSUNAMI

 

(01/05/2010 | 05:19 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

HONIARA, Solomon Islands — A disaster management official says an earthquake and a tsunami have destroyed 200 homes on one island in the Solomons leaving about one-third of the population homeless.

 

Disaster management office director Loti Yates says visual assessments from the air Tuesday show extensive damage after a 7.2-MAGNITUDE TEMBLOR struck.

 

No injuries have been reported some 30 hours after the biggest in a series of quakes churned a tsunami wave that was up to 10 feet (3 meters) high as it plowed into a remote region in the nation's west on Monday.

 

Yates says more than 1,000 people have been affected after some 200 houses were destroyed.

 

Only 3,600 people live on Rendova, one of the Solomon Islands some 190 miles (300 kilometers) from the capital Honiara.

 

- AP

[nancyk58]

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION ON 9 JANUARY 2010

 

Pagasa: LPA MAY CAUSE FLASH FLOODS, LANDSLIDES IN VISAYAS, MINDANAO

 

(01/09/2010 | 06:14 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

A low-pressure area (LPA) threatens to trigger landslides and flash floods in parts of Eastern Visayas and Mindanao, state weather forecasters said on Saturday.

 

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) also said the tail-end of a cold front is affecting Luzon.

 

"Visayas and Mindanao will experience cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms becoming widespread rains over eastern sections of Visayas and Mindanao which may trigger flashfloods or landslide. Luzon will be mostly cloudy skies with light rains," Pagasa said in its 5 p.m. bulletin.

 

It said moderate to strong winds blowing from the Northeast would prevail over Luzon, eastern sections of Visayas and Mindanao.

 

Coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough, it added.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the Northeast to North with slight to moderate seas.

 

Meanwhile, Pagasa said strong to gale force winds might affect seaboards of Northern and Central Luzon.

 

It advised fishing boats and small seacraft not to venture out into the sea, and large vessels to be alert against big waves.

 

- GMANews.TV

[nancyk58]

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA - 12 JANUARY 2010

 

Weather in the PHILIPPINES today: (23°C to 30°C). At 5 p.m. Tuesday, a northeast monsoon affects Luzon while a trough of a low-pressure area (LPA) extends across Eastern Visayas and Mindanao. PAGASA

 

EARTHQUAKE JOLTS METRO MANILA ON TUESDAY NIGHT

 

(Mark D. Merueñas, GMA News.TV - 01/12/2010 | 07:28 PM)

 

(Update 2- 8:44 p.m.) A MAGNITUDE-5.0 EARTHQUAKE jolted the central part of LUZON on Tuesday night, even as state forecasters warned against POSSIBLE AFTERSHOCKS.

 

The earthquake took place at 6:54 p.m., Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said.

 

According to the USGS Earthquake Hazards website, the earthquake's epicenter was located 50 kilometers west of Manila, in the vicinity of Bataan province, with an estimated depth of 112.4 km below the earth's surface.

 

A magnitude-5 earthquake is classified as a strong earthquake generally felt by most people indoors and some people outdoors, according to the Phivolcs website.

 

"It was a strong earthquake so having aftershocks is possible," Solidum said.

 

However, he added that the earthquake is not expected to cause much damage since the center was deep in the earth's crust.

 

"It could have been due to the movement of the South China Sea Plate into the Manila Trench," Solidum added.

 

Based on Twitter reports, the earthquake was felt in Makati, Quezon City, Taguig, Caloocan, and as far as Los Baños, Laguna.

 

- RJAB, Jr./JV, GMANews.TV

 

 

PHIVOLCS: MAGNITUDE- 2.1 QUAKE ROCKS N LUZON

 

(01/12/2010 | 07:59 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

A "MILD" MAGNITUDE-2.1 QUAKE rocked parts of Northern LUZON Monday night, but state seismologists said there was no initial damage to property.

 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the epicenter was located 2 km southeast of La Trinidad in Benguet province. It said the quake was recorded at 10:07 p.m., and was tectonic in origin.

 

Phivolcs said the quake was felt at Intensity II in Baguio City. It added it does not expect any damage or aftershock.

 

- LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV

-----------------------------------------

 

News note (from UNICEF.org)

 

UNICEF GEARS UP RELIEF EFFORTS TO TSUNAMI-STRUCK SOLOMON ISLANDS

 

GIZO, SOLOMON ISLANDS, 5 January 2010 – UNICEF PACIFIC is providing immediate support to the victims of a tsunami that hit Rendova and Tetepare Islands in the Solomon Islands on 4 January.

 

UNICEF Pacific was already working in Gizo on reconstruction of schools affected by the 2007 tsunami. Following reports that Rendova Island has been severely affected with hundreds of houses damaged and large areas completely inundated the children’s agency dispatched a rapid assessment team to Rendova and Tetepare Islands by boat.

 

There are 3600 people living on Rendova Island.

 

Emergency supplies that had been pre-positioned following the 2007 Tsunami are poised to be utilized. These supplies allow access to adequate sanitation, safe water and basic health care. UNICEF is also preparing materials and staff so that children, tremendously vulnerable during natural catastrophes, are protected. UNICEF materials and advisors will assist so that children are able to continue learning and studying, and be provided safe recreation areas while their caretakers turn to rebuilding their lives.

 

“This is the second major disaster affecting Western Province of Solomon Islands in the course of three years,” said UNICEF Pacific Representative Dr. Isiye Ndombi. “Although it is still unclear how great the devastation has been this time, it is clear that the psychological trauma for children and adults experiencing two tsunamis in such a short period will be significant.”

 

“Fortunately UNICEF Pacific is already on the ground in the area and able to provide immediate support to the people of Rendova and Teperare and other islands possibly affected. It will take several days however until we know the full extend and consequences of this tsunami because these islands are very remote and difficult to access.”

 

On Rendova Island itself UNICEF Pacific is in the process of reconstructing 19 schools affected by the 2007 Tsunami and has pre-positioned emergency supplies in the capital Honiara to address water, hygiene, health, education, child protection and psycho-social recovery issues in emergencies. In addition to the rapid response team already dispatched to Rendova and Tetepare Islands, two Emergency Specialists from UNICEF Pacific are travelling today from Fiji to Solomon Islands to provide additional support to relief efforts.

 

UNICEF Pacific has been working with reconstruction of schools and sanitation infrastructure in Western Province of Solomon Islands since April 2007 and is on track to complete reconstruction of 110 schools in the province by the end of 2010. The 2007 Tsunami in Solomon Islands affected more than 37.000 people including 18.000 girls and boys, left 54 dead and caused heavy damage to thousands of homes, more than 200 schools, 2 hospitals and several health facilities in Western Province.

 

For more information, please contact:

Tomas Jensen, Communication Specialist

Tel + 679 9925606,

E-mail: [email protected]

 

 

UNICEF distributes school supplies in typhoon-affected Philippines

 

By Silje Vik Pedersen (article updated 5 January 2010)

 

PANGASINAN, Philippines, 4 January 2010 – Puelay Elementary School in Villasis was one of many schools flooded when Typhoon PEPENG (known internationally as PARMA), hit the region in October.

 

“Three of our classrooms were totally destroyed, as well as tables, chairs, blackboards and computers,” said Principal Belen Bautista. “The play area was covered in mud and both the children’s and the teachers’ books were damaged.” With help from parents, students and the community, the school was able to reopen.

 

Children lined up in the courtyard, ready to receive their backpacks containing the notebooks, pens, crayons, glue, slippers, a drinking bottle and scissors that UNICEF handed out to all 1,145 students.

 

Tricia Mae, age eight, is in third grade and her house is located right next to the school.

 

“We were awake when the water came. My aunt said we should go to the church, but I don’t remember how we got there. When we came back to the house the next day all my clothes were gone and my school books were wet and muddy. I also lost my shoes,” she said as she eagerly opened her new school bag. “I am happy that I am back at school and that I have new notebooks and pens.”

 

‘EVERYONE HAS RETURNED'

“Everything in the school was damaged. It took us over a week to clean the school, but now the classrooms are full of students again and everyone has returned,” said teacher Gloria Orena.

 

UNICEF has distributed school packs to 23 schools in the affected areas of the country, enough supplies for 30,659 school children. However, there are still many more schools in need of help. Two of these are situated on the other side of the Agno River, in Rosales.

 

Carmen Elementary School and Robert Estrella National High School were both affected by flooding. There is still mud in the courtyards and along the pathways, and several of the classrooms have lost their walls. Damaged books lie outside, their titles barely readable.

 

MORE HELP NEEDED

The central office for the Department of Education has made Carmen Elementary School their first priority for repairs, but more assistance is needed.

 

“We lack food and school supplies for the children and the teachers,” said Principal Arturo de la Cruz. “We also have a problem with children dropping out of school because they have lost their books.”

 

Many of the students come from Carmen East and Carmen West, two of the worst affected regions. Several hundred families lost their homes and many are living with relatives or are in tents at a relocation site in nearby San Pedro. Some of these children, lacking books or money for transport, are finding it hard to return to school.

 

‘I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO GO’

Marjon, 14, is living with his family in a tent in San Pedro.

“I have only been to school once since we were evacuated here. When we lived in Carmen I went to school every day and it makes me sad that I haven’t been able to go,” he said.

 

Returning children to school as quickly as possible is the best to restore a sense of normalcy in children’s lives.

 

Marjon and his friends are hoping to return to school in the near future. “I just want to finish school so I can find a job to support my family,” he says.

---------------------------------------------

 

UNICEF’s five-year tsunami report (Tsunami Report 5 Year Anniversary) highlights goals reached in relief and recovery efforts

 

GENEVA, 18 December 2009 - Five years after an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia triggered a massive tsunami that spread throughout the Indian Ocean, UNICEF issued a report summarizing the results of its relief and recovery programmes in the eight affected countries.

 

The tragic events of December 26, 2004 caused destruction on an unprecedented scale. Nearly 230,000 people were killed – the majority of them women and children. Communities were devastated, livelihoods destroyed, homes, schools and heath facilities washed away. Yet the sheer scale of the Tsunami’s destruction – as well as the massive mobilization of resources received from international relief – provided many opportunities to restore basic services and build back better than before.

 

The international community pledged over USD 14 billion for the relief and recovery of tsunami-affected countries, and UNICEF funds received for the Tsunami stand at USD 694.7 million, of which three quarters was raised from UNICEF’s National Committees.

 

As the report indicates, the opportunities to build back better presented themselves not only in the sphere of basic services – such as health, education and water and sanitation – but also in improving the security of communities vulnerable to natural disaster or violent conflict, and in providing greater security to vulnerable children.

 

In INDONESIA, for example, “the unprecedented international response to the Tsunami created a unique opportunity to bolster the PEACE PROCESS between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement,” the report states, citing the PEACE AGREEMENT that was signed between the two parties in August 2005.

 

Beyond the effort to address immediate needs following the Tsunami, UNICEF’s reconstruction efforts focused on both Tsunami- and conflict-affected areas, a strategic decision designed to consolidate the peace reached in the aftermath of the Tsunami.

 

And in THAILAND, recovery efforts have been instrumental in building national systems to STRENGTHEN CHILD PROTECTION. A model Child Protection Monitoring System was initially established in 2007 to identify and monitor the situation of children orphaned by the Tsunami, as well as other at-risk children. The model was expanded from 27 sub-districts in 2007 to 36 sub-districts in 2008, and is now being considered for national replication.

 

The report also highlights some of the important lessons learned from the Tsunami relief and recovery operations – not the least of which is ensuring that governments, international agencies and NGOs partners coordinate their relief activities, complementing each other rather than overlapping their efforts. Another is ensuring that all stakeholders are better prepared to deal with emergencies as they occur.

 

In MYANMAR, for example, lessons UNICEF learned from the Tsunami response have positively influenced preparedness and response to other emergency situations, the report indicates. Following cyclone Mala and other emergencies in 2006, UNICEF was able to quickly mobilise and deliver emergency relief goods, including family kits, insecticide treated bednets, and essential drugs for local health centres, in the affected areas. Following cyclone Nargis in 2008, UNICEF distributed child survival kits to help treat up to 600,000 episodes of diarrhoea, 300,000 cases of pneumonia and 60,000 cases of post-partum haemorrhage prevention, and 6,200 cases of neonatal sepsis and severe pneumonia. UNICEF also provided support for therapeutic feeding programmes to respond to identified pockets of severe acute malnutrition.

 

Recovery programmes in some countries have now drawn to a close, with ongoing recovery work handed over to the national authorities or integrated into existing programmes carried out by the UNICEF country offices. Due to the scale of the recovery required in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, UNICEF will continue to support reconstruction activities through the end of 2010.

About UNICEF

 

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help CHILDREN survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of VACCINES for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

 

For more information, please contact:

Veronique Taveau, UNICEF Media, Geneva,

Tel + 41 22 909 5716,

E-mail: [email protected]

[nancyk58]

Magnitude 7.0-earthquake in HAITI on 13 Jan 2010

 

FACTS ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE in HAITI on 13 Jan 2010

 

The earthquake struck Haiti on 12 January kl. 16:53 local time. It measured 7.0 on the Richter scale and was followed by several violent aftershocks.

 

The capital, Port-au-Prince have been hard hit. Many buildings have collapsed and there is extensive damage to official buildings like the Presidential Palace, government offices and UN buildings, including the UNICEF office.

 

Infrastructure has been severely affected, so there is no electricity, limited access to clean water, large parts of the phone system does not work, and many roads are impassable because of collapsed buildings.

 

You can donate money to Haiti via http://www.unicef.org

 

 

Help the ICRC help HAITI: Link to that page: http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/helpicrc - Your contribution will be attributed to all our activities in Haiti, approximately half of the budget for which will be dedicated to the victims of the earthquake.

 

Help the victims: make a donation to the ICRC today

 

"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) relies on everyone’s commitment to the humanitarian cause and its underlying values. The strongest possible support from individuals, companies and foundations is essential if we are to meet the challenges we are currently facing. Your support to ICRC is more than just a donation - it is a true act of humanity. Thank you". Jakob Kellenberger, President of the ICRC

 

The ICRC is contributing to relief efforts by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement both in Port-au-Prince and from its regional base in Panama.

 

The ICRC plans to focus on providing medical aid for survivors of the earthquake and support for efforts to recover and identify the dead. It will also support Red Cross efforts to restore contacts between family members separated because of the earthquake and its aftermath. Finally, it plans to assess the needs of the prisons where it has been regularly visiting detainees.

 

 

https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?4306.donation=form1&idb=520717783&df_id=4306&s_subsrc=RCO_NewsArticle

 

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e43181aa0/?vgnextoid=a8712721ea326210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

 

American Red Cross releases $200,000 in aid to help communities affected by earthquake in Haiti

 

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

 

The American Red Cross has pledged an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by today’s earthquake in Haiti, and is prepared to take further action as local responders assess the situation.

 

“Initial reports indicate widespread damage in Port au Prince, with continuing aftershocks,” says Tracy Reines, director of international disaster response for the American Red Cross. “As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support.”

 

The American Red Cross has made available all of the relief supplies from its warehouse in Panama which would provide for basic needs for approximately 5,000 families. In addition, it is deploying a disaster management specialist to Haiti, and has additional disaster specialists on standby if needed.

The American Red Cross has an extensive partnership with the Haitian Red Cross, which is expected to lead the Red Cross response to the earthquake.

The American Red Cross has staff on the ground in Haiti who provide ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention and disaster preparedness programs. At this time, all the three American Red Cross staff in Haiti have all been reported safe.

The Haitian Red Cross was founded in 1932 and is one of the primary organizations in the country responding to disasters. Although earthquakes are less common, Haiti is frequently impacted by hurricanes including those in 2008, and the Haiti Red Cross has developed experience in disaster response due those disasters.

 

For more information and to schedule interviews, please contact Mat Morgan: [email protected] or 202-262-9148

 

You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. Donations to the International Response Fund can be sent to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at http://www.redcross.org.

 

https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?4306.donation=form1&idb=520717783&df_id=4306&s_subsrc=RCO_NewsArticle

 

 

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman on the earthquake in Haiti

 

NEW YORK, 13 January 2010 - We are saddened to learn of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Communications are extremely difficult and accurate information is still scarce, it is clear that the consequences are severe and many children are among the victims. Our hearts go out to the families whose lives have been so terribly impacted by this tragedy.

 

Early news reports indicate that schools have collapsed, homes destroyed, and hospitals overwhelmed by the large numbers of injured coming in for medical assistance.

 

UNICEF is deploying necessary supplies to Jacmel and Port-au-Prince as quickly as possible to assist with recovery efforts including clean water and sanitation, therapeutic foods, medical supplies and temporary shelter. We will also be focusing on children who have become separated from their families to protect them from harm or exploitation.

 

Expert estimates suggest that 46 per cent of Haiti’s nearly 10 million people are under 18 years of age. The special needs of children for food, shelter and protection, must be factored in at the very outset of relief efforts and UNICEF will do everything in its power to make sure these needs are met.

 

We are also greatly concerned for our colleagues from the United Nations mission, MINUSTAH, many of whom are still missing.

 

Preliminary reports indicate that the majority of UNICEF staff in Haiti are accounted for. But we are still trying to get in touch with some of our staff.

UNICEF premises in Port-au-Prince are badly damaged and our communications facilities have been destroyed.

 

For more information, please contact:

Christopher de Bono, UNICEF Media, New York, Tel + 1 212 303 7984, E-mail: [email protected]

Patrick McCormick, UNICEF Media, New York, Tel + 1 212-326-7426, E-mail: [email protected]

 

Haiti Red Cross has emergency ready for 3,000 families in the western part of Haiti, who Tuesday was hit by an earthquake.

 

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e43181aa0/?vgnextoid=a8712721ea326210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

[nancyk58]

From GMA News.TV:

 

» UN mission chief in Haiti appears to have died in quake

 

» Haiti quake new blow for country mired in misery

 

» DFA having difficulty finding out if there are Filipino casualties in Haiti

 

» Many casualties expected after big quake in Haiti

 

» Strong quake hits Haiti, collapsing hospital

 

 

RED CROSS: UP TO 3-M AFFECTED BY HAITI QUAKE

 

(01/13/2010 | 09:26 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

GENEVA — Haiti's devastating earthquake has left an estimated 3 million people in need of emergency aid, a Red Cross official said Wednesday, as aid groups and governments scrambled to send tons of disaster relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

 

Humanitarian officials said the proximity of the quake's epicenter, only 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the capital Port-au-Prince, and Haiti's crumbling infrastructure meant it was impossible to gauge exactly how many people might be dead or wounded.

 

"There's probably 3 million people potentially affected," said Paul Conneally, spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

 

The first airlifts to Haiti concentrated on search and rescue efforts and setting up makeshift hospitals.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States was offering full assistance — civilian and military. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain would provide "whatever humanitarian assistance is required," while France, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico and Venezuela pledged immediate support in terms of personnel, cash and supplies.

 

Germany said it would donate €1 million ($1.45 million), while China pledged $1 million.

 

One of the first teams expected to arrive Wednesday was 37 search and rescue specialists from Iceland, who are bringing with them 10 tons of their own equipment.

 

French rescue authorities say 65 clearing specialists and 6 sniffer dogs are leaving for Haiti on Wednesday, while Spain is rushing three airplanes to Haiti with at least 100 tons of tents, blankets and cooking kits. Israel is sending in an elite Army rescue unit of engineers and medics.

 

The Red Cross said Haiti's disaster relief teams were "completely overwhelmed."

 

"There's no structured response at this point," spokesman Simon Schorno told The Associated Press.

 

The United Nations is also deploying a disaster coordination team to Haiti.

Officials were struggling to assess the scale of the disaster amid badly damaged communication networks, said Elizabeth Byrs, a U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman, but it was working with aid agency Telecoms Sans Frontieres to immediately get phone lines working.

 

There is no electricity in the capital, and roads are filled with obstacles and debris, she added. Port-au-Prince's airport remains open, but the artery connecting it to the city is blocked, so aid officials were still trying to decide on the best way to rush lifesaving assistance.

 

U.N. agencies and Red Cross societies were trying to send in teams and aid from their regional hub in Panama, while USAID is mobilizing a response group and two urban search and rescue units, Byrs said.

 

If aid cannot travel over the airport road, assistance may be rerouted through the Dominican Republic, said Charles Vincent, a senior World Food Program official, whose agency plans to airlift tons of high-energy biscuits from El Salvador, enough to feed 30,000 people for a week.

 

"The first priority is to save lives," Vincent told reporters.

 

Byrs said the neighboring Haitian cities of Carrefour and Jacmel may also be heavily damaged.

 

Conneally said his estimate of the Haitians affected relied on previous Red Cross experience in earthquake relief.

 

"Port-au-Prince has been massively impacted," Conneally said. "There are many, many people trapped in the rubble."

 

He said emergency shelter and long-term rebuilding efforts could easily require a year of aid work.

 

At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI appealed for a generous international aid response for the quake victims and pledged the Catholic Church's support.

 

The Christian aid organization World Vision, which has 400 staff in Haiti, said it would immediately distribute supplies it had stored in Haiti for hurricane relief.

 

Low-lying areas of Port-au-Prince, including the Cite Soleil slum, appeared to be hit worse than neighborhoods higher up the hills, said World Vision spokesman Casey Calamusa.

 

Maggie Boyer, the World Vision spokeswoman in Haiti, said the moment the quake hit felt "like a truck had run into her building," he added. - AP

[nancyk58]

Chris Martin and Glastonbury festival organiser Emily Eavis have urged people to donate to Oxfam's appeal for earthquake victims in Haiti, which was launched in reaction to the deadly quake that struck the country yesterday (January 12th).

 

Both Chris and Eavis visited the island with Oxfam in 2002, and each said they expected the country to need all the help it can get following the 7.0-magnitude quake. Chris said via the official site: "I visited Haiti with Oxfam a few years ago. It's a country of extreme poverty and brutal living conditions. Most people in Port-au-Prince live in tin shacks. The earthquake that has struck Haiti will have turned the city into an unimaginable hell. The people of Haiti will be desperate for help and assistance."

 

Head to Oxfam.org.uk to leave a donation. Alternatively, call 0300 200 1999, or visit an Oxfam shop. Oxfam currently has a team of 100 people working in Haiti. Both Coldplay and Glastonbury have donated to the appeal.

[Macintosh]

It is so awfully! Haiti is the most unprepared country in this region for such cataclysms. I hope USA and European Union will assist in sufficient volume

[nancyk58]

DONATE TO HAITI and spread the word of this disaster

 

So far there have been posted links etc. to help: OXFAM.org.uk - http://www.redcross.org - http://www.icrc.org and http://www.unicef.org.

 

Now AVAAC has sent out this appeal to donate:

 

Stand with Haiti‏

 

From: Luis Morago - Avaaz.org ([email protected])

Sent: 14. januar 2010 02:53:29

To: Nancy Boysen

 

Dear friends,

 

Haiti's worst earthquake in 200 years struck yesterday, devastating the capital city, killing thousands and threatening over 3 million people in this desperately poor country.

 

Haitians are urgently appealing to the world for help -- we’re already in touch with strong local organisations mobilising community-based relief efforts.

 

Let’s send a worldwide wave of donations to the front lines, to save lives now and help people recover and rebuild. Avaaz will work partners to make sure the help reaches those who need it most. Click below to donate:

 

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_haiti

 

Based on expert advice from leading humanitarian NGOs who have been working in Haiti for over 30 years, we'll offer donations to trusted local organizations, including:

 

Honor and Respect for Bel Air, a big community-based network in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, which is also supported by our friends at the respected Brazilian NGO Viva Rio

 

Coordination Régionale des Organisations de Sud-Est (CROSE), which brings together some of the most active community groups in the South of Haiti where the earthquake struck hardest. These groups include: women's groups, schools networks and local cooperatives.

 

In 2008, Avaaz members donated over $2 million for Burmese monks to respond to the devastating Cyclone Nargis. Our money made an incredible difference there -- because it went directly to local people on the front lines of the aid effort.

 

Times of painful tragedy can bring out the best in us by bringing people together. Let's join with the people of Haiti to help them rescue their communities from this brutal disaster -- act now at this link:

 

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_haiti

 

 

With hope for Haiti,

 

Luis, Paul, Graziela, Paula, Ricken, Pascal, Alice, Benjamin, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

 

More information:

 

Haiti devastated by massive earthquake (BBC):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8455629.stm

 

Thousands feared dead as major quake strikes Haiti (Reuters):

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUK126337392643._CH_.2420

 

Deadly earthquake hits Haiti (Reuters pictures):

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR28T0W#a=7

 

------------------------------

 

Want to support Avaaz? We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated online team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.

 

ABOUT AVAAZ Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Buenos Aires, and Geneva. Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages! You can also follow Avaaz on Twitter!

 

Donate to Haiti via one of the organizations - if you can. Any donations - also small ones - are welcome as it is the thought that counts. So please HELP / spread the news of this disaster.

[nancyk58]

News from Danish text-tv on Thursday 14 January 2010:

 

At 14:11 Danish time on Thursday 14 January 2010, Danish Red Cross had collected ½ mio Danish Kroner to Haiti. The Danes have been most willing to donate money - and this time via digital media sending text (SMS) messages and donating online via the relief organizations' websites.

 

Between 20 and 22 TV2 News had a 2-hour-long broadcast about Haiti with focus on the relief organizations. Front figures of all the major relief organizations such as e.g. the Secretary General of the Danish Red Cross were interviewed.

 

During these two hours Danish Red Cross received 800,000 Danish kroner in donations for Haiti so that the total donations now amount to more than 1.3 mio Danish Kroner. Also the other organizations received donations during these two hours meaning donations of more than 1 million Danish kroner from 20 to 22 o'clock Danish time.

 

The Secretary General of the Danish Red Cross talked about a problem with a closed airport in the capital Port-au-Prince. USA helped to reopen the airport and flew in some helicopters and personnel to empty a huge airplane that was full of goods and stuff for the relief work, but there had not been the equipment (trucks etc) and personnel needed to empty the airplane and transport the relief goods and equipment to the affected areas. So until USA had helped so that Port-Au-Prince's airport could reopen, the other planes had to land in the neighbouring state the Dominican Republic. HAITI and the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC constitute the island of Hispaniola.

 

The Secretary General of the Danish Red Cross is heading for the Dominican Republic Friday and from here, he and other representatives of Red Cross and probably also other relief organizations and the press will travel into Haiti in a convoy and will probably arrive on Saturday and then find out what to do to be most efficient and helpful to the victims.

 

The UN has asked Denmark and Sweden to cooperate to deliver a camp (a field headquarter) for 100 relief workers to Haiti.

 

It is expensive for the relief organizations to rent planes for bringing relief goods and personnel to the affected area(s) because in time of natural disasters the price for renting these planes increases (due to the increasing demand).

 

Since the devastating magnitude-7,0 earthquake, Haiti has been hit by 41 aftershocks with a magnitude 4.5+ on the Richter scale.

 

Haiti's Red Cross estimates the death toll to be 45,000 to 50,000, and 3 million people are expected to be affected.

 

USA has donated 100 million dollars to HAITI and President OBAMA has promised HAITI that all Americans stand by / will support HAITI - "HAITI will not be forgotten".

[nancyk58]

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN the PHILIPPINES on 15 JANUARY 2010

 

MAGNITUDE-5.3 QUAKE ROCKS PARTS OF MINDANAO

 

(01/15/2010 | 12:36 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake rocked some parts of Mindanao early Friday but no one was reported injured, state seismologists said.

 

In its 10:26 a.m. bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the earthquake occurred 8:07 a.m., with the epicenter traced to 32 kilometers east of Tagum in Davao City.

 

The quake was felt at Intensity IV in Davao City; Intensity III in Tagum City and President Roxas in North Cotabato; Mati, Davao del Norte, and Magsaysay, Davao del Sur.

 

It was felt at Intensity II in Matalam, Makilala, and Kabacan towns in North Cotabato; Kidapawan, General Santos, and Digos Cities; and Matan-ow and Taragona in Davao Oriental. Caraga in Davao Oriental felt the tremor at intensity I.

 

Phivolcs said that no damage is expected but aftershocks may be possible.

 

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of Mindanao Wednesday night. It was felt in Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato at North Cotabato, but no damage was reported.

 

- Nikka Corsino/RSJ, GMANews.TV

 

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI on 15 JANUARY 2010 from the Filipino GMA News.TV

 

SECOND FILIPINA SAVED FROM HAITI RUINS, 5 STILL MISSING

 

(MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV - 01/15/2010 | 03:44 PM)

 

(UPDATE 2 - 8:26 p.m.) A second Filipina was rescued from the ruins of a supermarket in the quake-torn Hatian capital of Port-au-Prince, Philippine authorities reported Friday, leaving five more Filipinos either missing or trapped in establishments that were brought down by a magnitude-7 tremor that hit Haiti on Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines).

 

Rescued from the rubble of the Carribean Supermarket in Port-au-Prince's Delmas 95 District was Grace Fabian, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement Friday night.

 

Upon hearing the good news, Fabian’s family could not help but get emotional. They embraced each other as they shed tears of joy for Grace.

 

The Fabian family has been suffering sleepless nights and losing their appetite since the powerful tremor struck Haiti, GMA News’ Joseph Morong reported on Friday.

 

Arturo, the Fabian patriarch no longer wants his daughters, Grace and Roselyn, to stay in Haiti.

 

“I don't want you to be there anymore. Just stay here with us. I can take care of your needs. Go home," said a weeping Arturo.

 

He also called on the Philippine government to immediately repatriate Filipinos staying in the Caribbean country.

Earlier, rescuers saved Aurora Aguinaldo from the wreckage of the same establishment.

 

THIRD FILIPINA

The third Filipina, Geraldine Lalican, remains trapped in the supermarket. The DFA said that Lt. Col. Lope C. Dagoy, commander of the 10th Philippine Contingent in Haiti, told the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations that "rescuers continue efforts to extract" Lalican.

 

"Commander Dagoy said that a task force continues to search for, and make an accounting of, Filipino Community members. Filipinos who were able to contact the Philippine Contingent reported that they are all safe albeit suffering minor injuries. Filipinos in the neighborhood of Delmas 41 and 42 are also safe," the DFA said .

 

Over at the collapsed UN headquarters along Theoowle Bourdon Street, three UN peacekeepers remain trapped, namely Army Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez, Air Force Sergeant Janice Arcena, and Navy Petty Officer 3 Pearlie Tanagi.

 

Philippine authorities identified the sixth missing Filipino as Jerome Yap, one of about 35 to 40 international staffers of UN based in Haiti. Yap is an administrative officer of the principal deputy special representative of the UN secretary general in Haiti. Authorities could not say where Yap was last seen before the quake

Meanwhile, the Philippine government remains optimistic that the three peacekeepers are still alive, especially after signs of life were detected in the rubble.

 

"The arrival of new rescuers from the US, France and China with equipment has given us some hopes of the early rescue of our elements," said Col. Gregory Cayetano, commanding officer of the military's Peacekeeping Operations Center based in Camp O'Donnel, Capas, Tarlac.

 

The remaining Filipinos residing in other parts of the Caribbean country have already contacted the Philippine contingent in Haiti to tell them that they did not sustain serious injuries due to the quake.

 

Dagoy communicates with military officials in the Philippines through a satellite equipment provided to him by the UN. The military in the Philippines is also communicating with Philippine officials in Haiti through the Internet, whose connection was often “unstable," according to Cayetano. The powerful quake had brought down communication lines in Port-au-Prince.

 

Additional deployment

The Philippines will be deploying a fresh set of 155 peacekeepers to Haiti in February to augment rescue forces in the Caribbean nation, according to Cayetano.

Residents of the impoverished Caribbean nation could experience shortage in food and water supply, Cayeteno said.

 

"The utilities are down, so we expect that their food supply will be affected. Refrigeration of food will also be affected," Cayetano said in an interview with GMA News on Friday.

 

"We expect they will really have some belt-tightening while at the same time doing their functions, this is a huge sacrifice," he added.

 

There are 462 Filipinos in Haiti composed of 290 are civilians and 172 military and police peacekeepers, according to the DFA.

 

Haiti is having an extremely difficult time picking up from the disaster, reports said. Bodies remain scattered along capital Port-au-Prince’s streets, while civilians have started building makeshift shelters and sourcing food themselves.

 

Other survivors fled as far as 1,000 kilometers from the capital, including crossing the border to the Dominican Republic, to seek medical help.

 

A total of 17 UN personnel were found dead, while 50 remain missing. Several countries have already sent their contingents to assist the remaining UN peacekeeper, while relief goods and rescue workers were sent from China, Taiwan, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

 

- with reports from AIE BALAGTAS SEE/ARCS/GMANews.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

RP TO SEND MEDICAL TEAMS, ADDITIONAL PEACEKEEPERS TO HAITI

 

(01/15/2010 | 05:52 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

The Philippines will send medical teams and more peacekeepers to Haiti to to assist in relief operations following this week's devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people.

 

During the inauguration of the Caticlan Airport in Aklan on Friday, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she has instructed the Department of Health to form medical teams that will be sent to aid in humanitarian work in the Carribean country, which was rocked by a magnitude-5.7 earthquake Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday morning in Manila).

 

"We are more than ready to give a helping hand as we were victims ourselves -- Ondoy, Pepeng and Frank -- and a few months ago, about a year ago, we have also been a recipient of international assistance, now it is our turn to the give back," President Arroyo said.

 

At the same time, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the President has also given orders to the military leadership to prepare to deploy more peaceekeepers to Haiti.

 

Brawner said 155 soldiers would be sent to assist in relief and recovery operations.

 

"We are just waiting for the approval of UN (United Nations) and the pertinent documents like visas and then the vaccines and other necessary requirements for postings," he said.

 

Medals, recognition

Mrs. Arroyo said she would grant medals and other forms of recognition to the Filipino peacekeepers already in Haiti who are assisting in rescue and recovery operations even though they themselves were victims as the United Nation headquarters they were staying at collapsed because of the earthquake.

 

"It is especially close to our hearts because we have peacekeeping troops on Haiti who are doing a good job. To once again rise to the occasion, we have risen to the occasions here in the Philipines each time, so we will give them medals when they return," she added.

 

Three Filipino peacekeepers remain trapped inside the UN headquarters. They have been identified as Perly Tanagui of the Philippine Navy, Sgt. Jermis Arcena of the Philippine Air Force, and Sgt. Estacio Bermudez of the Philippine Army.

 

Data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) show that there are 462 Filipinos in Haiti — 290 are civilians, while 172 are military and police peacekeepers.

 

On Thursday, Cpl. David Catacutan was rescued after being trapped in the Montana hotel since the earthquake rocked the country.

 

"We are glad to hear that one of them has already been rescued and, moreover, there is a strong likelihood that the three others have survived the temblor. The only thing to do is clear the rubble to get to them," said Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.

 

Remonde assured that Philippine authorities are ready to cope with such disasters should they occur in the Philippines.

 

"Heaven forbid that a similar tragedy should befall the Philippines. However, if it does, our National Disaster Coordinating Council is at a level of preparedness to meet that contingency," he said.

 

-with additional report from Johanna Camille Sisante/RSJ, GMANews.TV

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

FILIPINA RESCUED FROM HAITI SUPERMARKET, 6 STILL MISSING

 

(MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV - 01/15/2010 | 03:44 PM )

 

A Filipina was rescued from the ruins of a supermarket in the quake-torn Hatian capital of Port au-Prince, Philippine authorities reported Friday. But six more Filipinos remain either trapped or missing in establishments that were brought down by the magnitude-7 tremor that hit Haiti on Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines).

 

The rescued woman was identified as Aurora Aguinaldo who, along with two other Filipinas, were trapped inside the Caribbean Supermarket in Delmas 95, according to Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Ed Malaya.

 

Malaya assured that Aguinaldo was already in a "safe and sound" condition. The two remaining women trapped in the establishment were identified as Geraldine Calican and Grace Fabian.

 

Over at the collapsed UN headquarters along Theoowle Bourdon Street, three UN peacekeepers remain trapped, namely Army Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez, Air Force Sergeant Janice Arcena, and Navy Petty Officer 3 Pearlie Tanagi.

 

Philippine authorities identified the sixth missing Filipino as Jerome Yap, one of about 35 to 40 international staffers of UN based in Haiti. Yap is an administrative officer of the principal deputy special representative of the UN secretary general in Haiti. Authorities could not say where Yap was last seen before the quake.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government remains optimistic that the three peacekeepers are still alive, especially after signs of life were detected in the rubble.

 

"The arrival of new rescuers from the US, France and China with equipment has given us some hopes of the early rescue of our elements," said Col. Gregory Cayetano, commanding officer of the military's Peacekeeping Operations Center based in Camp O'Donnel, Capas, Tarlac.

 

Meanwhile, Filipinos residing in Haiti's Quest Department districts of Delmas 41 and 42 have all been accounted for and are in safe condition, according to Malaya.

 

The remaining Filipinos residing in other parts of the Caribbean country have already contacted the Philippine contingent in Haiti to tell them that they did not sustain serious injuries due to the quake.

 

Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, Philippine contingent commander to Haiti, communicates with military officials in the Philippines through a satellite equipment provided to him by the UN.

 

Cayetano said the Philippine military was also communicating with Philippine officials in Haiti through the Internet, whose connection was often “unstable." The powerful quake had brought down communication lines in Port-au-Prince.

The Philippines will be deploying a fresh set of 155 peacekeepers to Haiti in February to augment rescue forces in the Caribbean nation, according to Cayetano.

Residents of the impoverished Caribbean nation could experience shortage in food and water supply, Cayeteno said.

 

"The utilities are down, so we expect that their food supply will be affected. Refrigeration of food will also be affected," Cayetano said in an interview with GMA News on Friday.

 

"We expect they will really have some belt-tightening while at the same time doing their functions, this is a huge sacrifice," he added.

 

There are 462 Filipinos in Haiti composed of 290 are civilians and 172 military and police peacekeepers, according to the DFA.

 

Haiti is having an extremely difficult time picking up from the disaster, reports said. Bodies remain scattered along capital Port-au-Prince’s streets, while civilians have started building makeshift shelters and sourcing food themselves.

 

Other survivors fled as far as 1,000 kilometers from the capital, including crossing the border to the Dominican Republic, to seek medical help.

 

A total of 17 UN personnel were found dead, while 50 remain missing. Several countries have already sent their contingents to assist the remaining UN peacekeeper, while relief goods and rescue workers were sent from China, Taiwan, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

 

- ARCS/GMANews.TV

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NAIA can withstand strong quake, official says

 

(01/15/2010 | 02:20 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

A Philippine official assured the public that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) – the primary hub for the country’s airlines – can withstand an earthquake as powerful as the one that hit HAITI. More

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RP contingent in Haiti faces shortage of food and water

[nancyk58]

Updates from GMA news.TV on HAITI on 15 January 2010

 

Groups struggle to get food, water to Haitians

 

(01/15/2010 | 04:10 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Aid workers hoping to distribute food, water and other supplies to a shattered Port-au-Prince are warning their efforts may need more security Friday as Haitians grow increasingly desperate and impatient for help.

 

United Nations peacekeepers patrolling the capital said people's anger is rising that aid hasn't been distributed quickly, and the Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to guard against looting.

 

"Unfortunately, they're slowly getting more angry and impatient," said David Wimhurst, spokesman for the Brazilian-commanded UN peacekeeping mission. "I fear, we're all aware that the situation is getting more tense as the poorest people who need so much are waiting for deliveries. I think tempers might be frayed."

 

The international Red Cross estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in Tuesday's cataclysmic earthquake, based on information from the Haitian Red Cross and government officials.

 

Hundreds of bodies were stacked outside the city morgue, and limbs of the dead protruded from the rubble of crushed schools and homes. A few workers were able to free people who had been trapped under the rubble for days, but others attended to the grim task of using bulldozers to transport loads of bodies.

 

For the long-suffering people of Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, shock was giving way to despair.

 

"We need food. The people are suffering. My neighbors and friends are suffering," said Sylvain Angerlotte, 22. "We don't have money. We don't have nothing to eat. We need pure water."

 

From Europe, Asia and the Americas, more than 20 governments, the UN and private aid groups were sending planeloads of high-energy biscuits and other food, tons of water, tents, blankets, water-purification gear, heavy equipment for removing debris, helicopters and other transport. Hundreds of search-and-rescue, medical and other specialists also headed to Haiti.

 

The UN World Food Program began organizing distribution centers for food and water Thursday, said Kim Bolduc, acting chief of the large UN mission in this desperately poor country. She said it was remarkable there were no widespread reports of looting, but added that "the risk of having social unrest very soon" made it important to move quickly.

 

Governments and government agencies have pledged about $400 million worth of aid, including $100 million from the United States.

 

But into the third day following the 7.0-magnitude quake, the global helping hand was slowed by a damaged seaport and an airport that turned away civilian aid planes for eight hours Thursday because of a lack of space and fuel. Aid workers have been blocked by debris on inadequate roads and by survivors gathered in the open out of fear of aftershocks and re-entering unstable buildings.

 

Across the sprawling, hilly city, people milled about in open areas, hopeful for help, sometimes setting up camps amid piles of salvaged goods, including food scavenged from the rubble.

 

Small groups could be seen burying dead by roadsides. Other dust-covered bodies were being dragged down streets, toward hospitals where relatives hoped to leave them. Countless dead remained unburied, some in piles. Outside one pharmacy, the body of a woman was covered by a sheet, a small bundle atop her, a tiny foot poking from its covering.

 

Aid worker Fevil Dubien said some people were almost fighting over the water he distributed from a truck in a northern Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

 

Elsewhere, about 50 Haitians yearning for food and water rushed toward two employees wearing "Food For The Poor" T-shirts as they entered the international agency's damaged building.

 

"We heard a commotion at the door, knocking at it, trying to get in," said project manager Liony Batista. "'What's going on? Are you giving us some food?' We said, 'Uh-oh.' You never know when people are going over the edge."

 

Batista said he and others tried to calm the crowd, which eventually dispersed after being told food hadn't yet arrived.

 

"We're not trying to run away from what we do," Batista said, adding that coordinating aid has been a challenge. "People looked desperate, people looked hungry, people looked lost."

 

Engineers from the UN mission have begun clearing some main roads, and law-and-order duties have fallen completely to the mission's 3,000 international troops and police. About 5,500 US soldiers and Marines were expected to be in Haiti by Monday. Their efforts will include providing security, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

 

Wimhurst, the mission spokesman, said Haitian police "are not visible at all," no doubt because many had to deal with lost homes and family members. The first US military units to arrive took on a coordinating role at the airport.

 

Batista, the Food For The Poor project manager, went back to the Dominican Republic late Thursday and awaited the arrival of 100 shipping containers loaded with rice, canned goods and building supplies.

 

"I don't think that a word has been invented for what is happening in Haiti," he said. "It is total disaster."

 

- AP

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Exiled former leader Aristide wants to return to Haiti

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SIGNS OF LIFE DETECTED IN COLLAPSED UN BUILDING IN HAITI

 

(01/15/2010 | 01:26 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

Two days after the powerful quake that hit Haiti, signs of life were finally detected inside the United Nations headquarters in the Hatian capital of Port-au-Prince where three Filipino peacekeepers are trapped.

 

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. received the good news Friday morning from Lt. Col. Gregory Cayetano, commanding officer of the AFP's Peacekeeping Operations Center based in Camp O'Donnel, Capas, Tarlac.

 

Brawner said there's still proof of life. There's a proof of life in the UN building that collapsed, and we believe that the three trapped peacekeepers are inside.

The information relayed by Cayetano to Brawner was from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Consulate in Cuba, radio dzBB's Benjie Liwanag said on Friday.

 

Brawner said he was told that after hearing voices and noises, rescuers zeroed in on the second floor of the UN building, formerly the Christopher Hotel. The second floor is where most of the UN offices are located. It is also the area where three Filipinos are believed to be trapped.

The three trapped Filipino peacekeepers are Army Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez, Air Force Sergeant Janice Arcena, and Navy Petty Officer 3 Pearlie Tanagi.

 

A fourth peacekeeper, Cpl. David Catacutan was, who was trapped at the Montana Hotel, was earlier pulled out of the rubble.

 

"It is possible that they are tapping the metal parts of the building or its walls or pipes. But definitely there's movement inside the building," Brawner told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Friday.

 

Brawner said rescue operations had been intensified in Haiti. Heavy equipment had started arriving in the area, two days after a magnitude-7 earthquake tore down structures in the impoverished Caribbean country.

 

The Red Cross claims that between 45,000 and 50,000 could have died from the tremor.

 

If requested, the Philippine government will deploy additional troops from the 11th Philippine contingent to Haiti, according to Brawner.

 

- MARK MERUEÑAS/ARCS/GMANews.TV

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George Clooney, MTV working on Haiti telethon [/b]

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HAITI QUAKE AID SNARLED; UP TO 50,000 FEARED DEAD

 

(01/15/2010 | 09:24 AM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Doctors and search dogs, troops and rescue teams flew to this devastated land of dazed, dead and dying people Thursday, finding bottlenecks everywhere, beginning at a main airport short on jet fuel and ramp space and without a control tower.

 

The international Red Cross estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in Tuesday's cataclysmic earthquake, based on information from the Haitian Red Cross and government officials. Worries mounted, meanwhile, about food and water for the survivors.

 

"People have been almost fighting for water," aid worker Fevil Dubien said as he distributed water from a truck in a northern Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

 

From Virginia, from China, a handful of rescue teams were able to get down to work, scouring the rubble for survivors. In one "small miracle," searchers pulled a security guard alive from beneath the collapsed concrete floors of the UN peacekeeping headquarters, where many others were entombed.

 

But the silence of the dead otherwise was overwhelming in a city where uncounted bodies littered the streets in the 80-degree heat, and dust-caked arms and legs reached, frozen and lifeless, from the ruins. Outside the General Hospital morgue, hundreds of collected corpses blanketed the parking lot, as the grief-stricken searched for loved ones. Brazilian UN peacekeepers, key to city security, were trying to organize mass burials.

 

Patience already was wearing thin among the poorest who were waiting for aid, said David Wimhurst, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission.

 

"Unfortunately, they're slowly getting more angry and impatient, because when they see us moving — and we're patrolling the streets, the military and the police are out patrolling the streets in order to maintain a calm situation, so that humanitarian aid can be delivered," he said.

 

In Washington, President Barack Obama announced "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history," starting with $100 million in aid. The first of 800 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division were to deploy to Haiti from North Carolina, to be followed by more than 2,000 Marines.

 

From Europe, Asia and the Americas, other governments, the UN and private aid groups were sending planeloads of high-energy biscuits and other food, tents, blankets, water-purification gear, heavy equipment for removing debris, helicopters and other transport, and teams of hundreds of search-and-rescue, medical and other specialists.

 

But two days after much of this ramshackle city was shattered, the global helping hand was slowed by the poor roads, airport and seaport of a wretchedly poor nation.

 

Some 60 aid flights had arrived by midday Thursday, but they then had to contend with the chokepoint of an overloaded Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport. At midday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was temporarily halting all civilian flights from the US at Haiti's request, because the airport was jammed and jet fuel was limited for return flights. The control tower had been destroyed in Tuesday's tremor, complicating air traffic. Civilian relief flights were later allowed to resume.

 

Those which did land then had to navigate Haiti's inadequate roads, sometimes blocked by debris or by quake survivors looking for safe open areas as aftershocks still rumbled through the city. The UN World Food Program said the quake-damaged seaport made ship deliveries of aid impossible.

 

The looting of shops that broke out after the 7.0-magnitude quake struck late Tuesday afternoon added to concerns. The Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to guard against looting by the desperate population.

 

"There is no other way to get provisions," American Red Cross representative Matt Marek said of the store looting. "Even if you have money, those resources are going to be exhausted in a few days." The city's "ti-marchant," mostly women who sell food on the streets, were expected to run out soon.

 

The quake brought down Port-au-Prince's gleaming white National Palace and other government buildings, disabling much of the national leadership. That vacuum was evident Thursday.

 

"Donations are coming in to the airport here, but there is not yet a system to get it in," said Kate Conradt, a spokeswoman for the Save the Children aid group. "It's necessary to create a structure to stock and distribute supplies," the Brazilian military said.

 

Edmond Mulet, a former UN peacekeeping chief in Haiti, was expected to arrive later Thursday from UN headquarters in New York to coordinate the relief effort. The first US military units to arrive took on a coordinating role at the airport, but State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley underlined, "We're not taking over Haiti."

 

Across the sprawling, hilly city, people milled about in open areas, hopeful for help, sometimes setting up camps amid piles of salvaged goods, including food scavenged from the rubble. Police and UN peacekeeper trucks pushed down crowded streets, showing little sign of coordinated action.

 

Small groups by roadsides could be seen burying dead. Other dust-covered bodies were being dragged down streets, toward hospitals where relatives hoped to leave them. Countless remained unburied, stacked up, children's bodies lying atop mothers, tiny feet poking from blankets.

 

The injured, meanwhile, waited for treatment in makeshift holding areas — outside the General Hospital, for example, where the stench from piles of dead, just a few yards (meters) away, wafted over the assembled living.

 

Here and there, small tragedies unfolded. In the Petionville suburb, friends held back Kettely Clerge — "I want to see her," she sobbed — as neighbors with bare hands tried to dig out her 9-year-old daughter, Harryssa Keem Clerge, pleading for rescue, from beneath their home's rubble.

 

"There's no police, there's nobody," the hopeless mother cried. By day's end, the girl was dead.

At the collapsed UN peacekeeping headquarters, an Estonian guard, Tarmo Joveer, was pulled alive and unhurt from the ruins at 8 a.m. Thursday, 39 hours after the quake — a "small miracle," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York. But UN officials reported that 36 other U.N. personnel, mostly peacekeepers and international police, were confirmed dead and almost 200 remained missing, including top staff.

 

Nearby, firefighters from Fairfax County, Va., and a rescue team from China, with sniffer dogs, clambered through rubble and searched for signs of life. Two excavators stood by, ready to dig for survivors — or dead.

 

Fr the long-suffering people of Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, shock and disbelief were giving way to despair.

 

"We need food. The people are suffering. My neighbors and friends are suffering," said Sylvain Angerlotte, 22. "We don't have money. We don't have nothing to eat. We need pure water."

 

But life also went on. Brazilian soldiers helped deliver a baby girl in an improvised garage-hospital at their base, just hours after the quake hit. Capt. Fabricio Almeida de Moura said the child was doing well, but the life of the mother, who apparently went into labor from the shock of the tremor, was in danger from bleeding, the Agencia Brasil news service reported.

 

The unimaginable scope of the catastrophe left many Haitians, a fervently religious people, in helpless tears and prayer.

Reached by The Associated Press from New York, Yael Talleyrand, a 16-year-old student in Jacmel, on Haiti's south coast, told of thousands of people made homeless by the quake and sleeping on an airfield runway, "crying, praying and I had never seen this in my entire life."

Earlier, she said, one woman had run through Jacmel's streets screaming, "God, we know you can kill us! We know you're strongest! You don't need to show us!"

 

- AP