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PHILIPPINES: UN to revise flash appeal

13 Oct 2009 10:17:48 GMT
Source: IRIN

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• Hurricanes and cyclones

MANILA, 13 October 2009 (IRIN) - The UN is to revise its flash appeal made on 7 October [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86477] for the Philippines, which faces massive reconstruction and rehabilitation challenges after cyclones devastated many areas and killed at least 684 people, the body's humanitarian chief, John Holmes, said on 13 October. Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said US$74 million was clearly not enough, and stressed that it would be revised when a more complete assessment came in from the field. "We will revise it. We may need to increase it," Holmes told reporters during a two-day visit to review relief operations in the Philippines. The "crisis is by no means over. Indeed, the hard work is just starting," he said. "This is a major crisis and a major tragedy for so many people." The appeal covers priority projects for food, drinking water, sanitation, shelter and household items, and will be revised after a month. It will last for six months until March 2010, and is intended to address the immediate needs of a million people affected by the cyclones and flooding. Holmes said he was optimistic the international donor community would respond positively to a revised appeal, even as he conceded that the global financial crisis and disasters in other parts of Southeast Asia in the past two weeks could limit donations. "Climate change is already causing more intense disasters," Holmes said, citing recent storms here and in other countries. He said only $19 million had been pledged so far for the flash appeal. Cyclone commission

Meanwhile, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has issued an executive order creating a "special, national public-private sector reconstruction commission" that will undertake a study of the causes, costs and actions to be taken after cyclones Parma and Ketsana caused widespread destruction. "The key task of the commission is to study the causes, costs and actions to be taken and undertake a rehabilitation plan for infrastructure and other priorities," Arroyo said shortly after presiding over an emergency meeting. She said it would also serve as the "clearing house" for international assistance pledged through the UN. Ketsana dumped record rainfall on Manila and surrounding areas on 26 September, causing unprecedented flooding. It destroyed hospitals and homes, and washed away entire communities along river banks. A week later on 3 October, super-typhoon Parma hit the northern Philippines and Luzon island's western coast, drowning large tracts of farm land and causing landslides that destroyed bridges and motorways. Authorities were also forced to release water from two near-bursting dams, adding to the flooding that at one point covered an entire province. Together, the cyclones left 648 dead, with many still missing, and affected more than six million people, some 300,000 of whom are still housed in makeshift evacuation centres, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said. Damage to infrastructure and agriculture, which contributes significantly to the economy, is initially placed at 17.6 billion pesos ($382.60 million), a figure that is likely to rise once a final assessment is made, officials said. With dykes, bridges, roads and entire communities needing to be rehabilitated, Arroyo said the help of the private sector was needed, while the government may also ask for grants or concessional loans from lending institutions. jg/ey/mw

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Last updated:Tue Oct 13 10:18:00 2009

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