December 5, 2006
Having caused extensive damage in the Philippines, Typhoon Durian hit southern Vietnam today and killed at least 50 people. Forty-six others were missing, the Reuters news agency reported.
At least 18,812 houses were damaged or destroyed, and some 858 fishing boats -- crucial to the economic life of Vietnam's rural communities -- were lost. Church World Service Vietnam reports that massive evacuations had taken place prior to the storm's landfall.
Officials said they are worried that affected areas in Vietnam could now experience severe flooding and landslides in the storm's wake.
The same storm left 526 dead and 740 missing in the central Philippines, with some 300,000 houses destroyed. Total damage, including damage to infrastructure and agriculture, is estimated at US $12.25 million. Particularly hard-hit was Albay Province, where rural communities were crushed by boulders and mud loosened from the slopes of Mayon Volcano.
Geneva-based Action by Churches Together (ACT) reports that the full extent of Durian's damage is not known given that some areas remain isolated and power and communication lines are still down.
RESPONSE: In the Philippines, Church World Service will support response through its long-time partner, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), one of principal members of the ACT network in the Philippines.
The NCCP through its relief arm in the Bicol region -- the NCCP Andurog Mayon -- is conducting assessments and also assisting in rescue operations. Stockpiles from the NCCP's national warehouse are being sent to the NCCP Andurog Mayon Operations Center in Legaspi City for immediate distribution to the evacuation centers.
In Vietnam, Church World Service Vietnam is working closely with the Disaster Mitigation Working Group, made of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs); the National Disaster Mitigation Partnership (government), and the Vietnamese government's Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control in assessing damage.
Church World Service is also working with partners in southern provinces to collect information on damages and needs and report to National Disaster Mitigation Partnership. This information will be compiled together with regular updates from the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control and communicated to all relief organizations.
Church World Service Vietnam is preparing to assist in emergency shelter and non-food items to affected populations, and provide other services as needed.
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. ]
