By Anna Lindenfors / Save the Children | Wed., December 21, 9:26 AM | Comments ( 0 )
A resident retrieves belongings from the debris in a subdivision hit by flash floods brought by Typhoon Washi in Iligan city, southern Philippines December 19, 2011. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
On Saturday morning (night-time in the Philippines) very heavy rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks and flood the area – killing hundreds and leaving thousands more stranded, without food or shelter, in the middle of the night.
Save the Children’s team on the ground launched into action immediately – assessing the damage on the most vulnerable children and their families.
Travelling along the highway you can see bodies lined up – waiting to be identified. Of the hundreds of dead, there are only a few injured. This is not unusual in a flood. Very few people caught up in the path of a flash flood will survive. Most of the dead were children, again not a surprise. Children are smaller, lighter and less likely to know where to go in an emergency. Those that survived will be cold, exhausted and terrified. Some will have been separated from their parents in the chaos.
Several of Save the Children’s team are coping with personal tragedy while responding to the flooding. One tells me their family didn’t survive intact. The debris of a destroyed house fell on top of a relative, killing her. Another tells me that water levels are so high their home is completely uninhabitable. They are worried about electrocution, so can’t return home. Yet another reports that they have run out of coffins in the town, and he doesn’t know what will happen.
The team carries on anyway, urgently struggling through debris and floodwater to reach the victims of the crisis. Several had been on the phone through the night, trying to comfort those stranded on rooftops of houses.
The next few days are critical. Children are always the most vulnerable during emergencies – and in the aftermath. Stagnant water and tainted supplies can cause disease. Longer term children will face hunger and malnutrition – in a country where 30% of the population already lives beneath the poverty line, lost food stocks and lost income can push families over the brink.
50,000 children have been caught up in the flash flooding, and we’re working around the clock to reach vulnerable children and adults before it is too late.
Anna Lindenfors is Country Director of Save the Children Philippines
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