European Union aid for tropical storm Sendong victims reached PHP 389 million making EU the largest foreign contributor in relief aid for typhoon-stricken Northern Mindanao.
The European Commission through its Humanitarian Aid Department provided P169,533,000 while the Spanish Embassy provided P79,680,510 with German and Italian Embassies contributing P28,255,500. Other contributors included the Belgian and Finnish Embassies (P22,604,400), the Dutch Embassy (P19,778,850), the Embassy of Ireland (P5,651,100), the French Embassy (P2,825,550) the Czech Embassy (P3,955,770), the Danish Consulate (P2,260,440), Luxembourg (P2,024,148) and the Australian Embassy (P406,879).
EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux said that the overall EU humanitarian contribution is a confirmation of the European Union’s solidarity with the Philippines.
Ambassador Ledoux lead a group of EU diplomats that visited the evacuation centers and assessed the relief work being done here in Cagayan de Oro. With him were Ms. Maria Molina, Deputy Head of Mission, Spanish Embassy, Mr. Norberto Gomez de Liaño, Deputy Coordinator General, Office of Technical Cooperation (AECID), Mr. Jozef Naudts, Belgian Embassy First Secretary, and Dr. Mario Tavolaj, Consultant, Italian Embassy.
Ambassador Ledoux said that: “Our visit to Cagayan de Oro City is our expression of solidarity and support for vulnerable families affected by typhoon Sendong. The visit also aims that assessing the progress and effectiveness of the EU assistance provided.”
The EU was one of the first to respond to provide immediate aid to the typhoon victims as three EU humanitarian experts from European Commission Humanitarian Aid went to Cagayan de Oro City on 19 December 2011 to assess the damage of the typhoon. The EC in Brussels on the same day already allocated a total of €3 million as relief assistance for the typhoon-hit region.
The €3 million emergency assistance was coursed through IFRC, PRC, IOM, ACF, Plan International, German Red Cross, Save the Children and Care Nederland.
PNRC Chairman Dick Gordon, together with EU Diplomats, answers questions from members of media on the projects undertaken by the group on the rehabilitation of the survivors and their homes.Meanwhile, The International Organization of Migrants (IOM) has distributed the first batch of shelter repair kits for families displace by Typhoon Sendong.
The IOM has distributed 200 shelter repair kits to families with partially-damaged houses in Barangay Iponan in Cagayan de Oro and other areas worst hit by the flash floods trigged by Sendong.
With EUR 700,000 from the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO), IOM will provide shelter repair assistance to up to 1,894 families in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities, and also upgrade the facilities of 17 evacuation centers where thousands of families have been forced to live in difficult conditions.
The distribution came as classes resumed in public schools, emphasizing the need to decongest the already crowded schools, which were converted into evacuation centers.
“There is an urgent need to provide displaced families, who can return to their places of origin that are not identified as permanent danger zones, with materials to repair their damaged homes and promote the safe and voluntary return to their places of origin or to move to alternative site,” says IOM Emergency Program Manager Dave Bercasio.
“The shelter materials will enable them to move to improve living conditions and help promote a sense of normalcy as they return to their way of life before the disaster struck.”
At the Macasandig Covered Courts, among the largest evacuation sites in Cagayan de Oro City, IOM has completed the construction of bathing cubicles and bed kits. An upgrade of facilities is also underway at the North City Central Elementary School.
“The facilities currently being used as evacuation centers are not equipped to handle the amount of people that have sought refuge in these areas. There is a need to carry out repair and upgrading of facilities as well as support the care and maintenance of these facilities to promote safe and humane living conditions within the sites,” Bercasio adds.
Aside from the shelter kits, IOM has distributed over 1,600 non-food item kits consisting of sleeping mats, mosquito nets and jerry cans and is preparing to build 46 bunkhouses, which can accommodate a total of 230 families at the Lumbia relocation site in Cagayan de Oro as well as starting construction of two multipurpose halls at the Calaanan relocation site.
The organization is also assisting local social workers in gathering information to identify families who are in need of permanent relocation, and who cannot return to areas declared as geohazard zones.
Sendong struck Cagayan de Oro and Iligan on the evening of 16 December 2011 triggering flash floods while people were asleep in their homes. The storm dumped about 142 millimeters of rain in a span of 12 hours, triggering flash floods from three major rivers, which swept away thousands of homes and killed over 1,000 people in Cagayan de Oro alone. Philippine disaster officials estimate that over 700,000 people have been affected by the floods.
IOM has provided assistance to the Government of the Philippines with its Typhoon Emergency Response Programme since 2009 when a series of typhoon struck the country. In particular, the organization supports the government in rolling out and coordinating response efforts within the Camp Coordination and Camp Management and Non-Food Item sector.
IOM’s projects facilitate the re-establishment of humane living conditions through repair and rebuilding of shelters, as well as disaster risk reduction through “build back better” approaches.
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