December 4, 2006
As many as 1,000 residents of the Philippines are feared dead as the result of floods and landslides caused by Typhoon Durian. At least 1 million were affected by the typhoon, which was on course to hit Vietnam today.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state a national state of calamity in the wake of Durian, which killed 450 in the central Philippines and left some 630 missing. Officials feared that many of the victims' bodies may never be found.
CWS RESPONSE: CWS's long-time partner in the Philippines, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) is one of principal members of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) network in the Philippines and has responded before to disasters in what is, due to geography and high rates of poverty, one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world.
The NCCP has notified ACT partners that communication, even by mobile phone, from the affected area is not yet possible and that there are continued challenges with mobility, power and communication. NCCP has projects with farming communities in the areas affected by the typhoon.
CWS expects to know shortly whether there will be a response from the NCCP or other ACT partners in the Philippines.
For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is responding please visit us online or call the CWS Hotline, (800) 297-1516.
Media Contacts:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin (24/7), 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
