Devastation in Typhoon’s Path Slows Relief in Philippines
By KEITH BRADSHER
Published: November 11, 2013 151 Comments
CEBU, Philippines — The scale of the devastation and the desperation wrought by one of the most powerful storms ever to buffet the Philippines came into much clearer view on Monday, three days after it hopscotched across the country’s midsection whipping up monstrous walls of seawater.
Multimedia
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Jes Aznar for The New York Times
Survivors in Tacloban salvaged necessities from destroyed homes.
Readers’ Comments
"The scenes reveal the government's incompetence. As always the impoverished have to bear the brunt of the havoc. "J. Von Hettlingen, Switzerland
Survivors spoke of people being swept away in tsunami-like torrents, their corpses strewn among the wreckage of the storm, Typhoon Haiyan.
Residents of the hard-hit city of Tacloban described a terrifying experience Friday evening as Haiyan hit, with seawater suddenly filling the streets, rising within minutes until it had submerged the ground floors of homes and was waist-deep on the second floors of those that had second floors. Screaming people bobbed in the water — many grabbing for floating debris, but not all succeeding.
“Swirling water from the ocean filled the streets,” said Virginia Basinang, 54, a retired teacher in Tacloban. “Some of them were able to hold on, some were lucky and lived, but most did not.” When the water receded, 14 bodies lay on the broken wall of the house across the street from her home, Ms. Basinang said. They were still there, she said.
Drizzle began turning into rain just before midnight on Monday in Tacloban, and through the early morning hours it became torrential at times, adding further misery for Filipinos still trying to occupy homes that lost part or all of their roofs during the typhoon. Dirt roads began turning to mud by dawn on Tuesday, raising another obstacle for relief workers.
By some estimates, at least 10,000 people may have died in Tacloban alone. But with phone service out across large stretches of this central Philippines archipelago, it was not yet known if the storm had been as deadly in more remote areas. With winds that reached 190 miles an hour, according to some accounts, the typhoon hit with a force that approached that of a tornado.
The main effect appeared to be a storm surge driven by the winds, believed to be among the strongest ever recorded in the Philippines, lifting walls of water onto the land as they struck.
Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr., a spokesman for the armed forces, said, “I don’t have words to describe what our ground commanders are seeing in the field.”
United Nations officials said Monday that Valerie Amos, the organization’s top relief official, was en route to the Philippines to lead the international aid effort, which had already begun mobilizing on the ground. Ms. Amos, the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, released $25 million from an emergency response fund to help pay for immediate priorities and planned to launch a “flash appeal” for more money when she arrived on Tuesday.
“We are focused first and foremost on the requirements for food, shelter, medical support, to prevent the outbreak of public health disasters,” John Ging, the operations coordinator for United Nations relief, told reporters in New York.
Asked if he thought the death toll could rise, Mr. Ging said, “We hope it doesn’t get any higher but we have to be prepared for the worst.”
A Red Cross aid convoy to Tacloban had to turn back on Sunday after it stopped at a collapsed bridge and was nearly hijacked by a crowd of hungry people. “There is very little food going in, and what food there was, was captured” by the crowd.
The storm posed new challenges for President Benigno S. Aquino III at a time when emergency funds have been depleted. Just four weeks ago, a magnitude-7.2 earthquake struck the middle of the country.
On Monday, amid rising fears of a breakdown of law and order after reports of widespread looting and robberies, the government said it was flying more police officers to the region.
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151 Comments
Make yourselves feel better, I guess, with a prayer or two, but what is really needed is money for the victims and political pressure on nations for meaningful reform.
Enough said
Drop the smug attitude and donate to the Red Cross.
This is a human tragedy. Save your comments for later. At this point, it really doesn't matter who contributed to the tragedy.
Recognize the need to get food and water to those in need, immediately. The need to clear streets of bodies, immediately. The need to provide temporary shelter, immediately. Donate money to an organization that has boots on the ground that can get aid to people in need, immediately. Donate to the Philippine Red Cross, to UNICEF or some other organization that has a presence right now. Your dollars will go much further that way.
My donation went to the Philippine Red Cross. Please note the conversation rate if you are donating in local currency---4200 Philippine Pesos is about $100.
That would be very helpful now.
www.salvationarmyusa.org
www.adventist.org
And there's the Red Cross, of course:
www.redcross.org
Which organizations get aid where it needs to go, which seems as if it requires helicopters and a "military style" response.
DoctorswithoutBorders for those on the edge of life still holding on
CARE, Oxfam, UNICEF
No doubt lots more, but these in particular have a very good reputation for finding ways to get your aid to the victims, not to red tape, and are experienced in getting more for the money.
I'm afraid action thereon won't be taken until these disasters become an ongoing, nonstop world wide phenomenon.
Why not freight available cruise ships in order to bring food and shelter to
thousand of refugees.
The balances of the earth have been perturbed (by man and his activities, and largely related to that human quality called greed) and they will not easily or quickly be restored.
Those of us living in the 1st world are encouraged by our governments to buy thousands of useless products a year, to keep employment high. And those of us living in the developing world want to join the spending spree for i- and other junk
If all the efforts to potentially save one house consume all that could otherwise be put to use to recover a thousand, then we need to stop and ask ourselves: What are we doing thinking as we are?
The pictures of the bewildered and shocked, walking amidst the ruins of their lives is heart-wrenching, to say the least. If there's any positive to be found in this, is that at least there's no drumbeat of war accompanying it casting the blame on someone else. Rather an awkward, humbled silence; and rightly so.