1.9 Million Affected by Philippines Flooding

September 29th - Plan has released USD $100,000 of emergency funds to respond to the worst tropical storm to affect Philippines in recent years.

The money is being used on immediate relief efforts including providing food, drinking water, blankets, clothing, mattresses and emergency shelters.

But with weather forecasts predicting more rain over the next few days, Plan is appealing for a further USD $750,000 to support our education and disasters risk reduction support project for children and families living in the Rizal Province.

The appeal money will go towards a number of areas, including buying tools for school cleaning and clearing operations so that schools can re-open, providing water and sanitation for children and setting up child-friendly temporary learning spaces.

Tropical Storm Ketsana hit the country on Saturday (26) flooding parts of Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon. Around 240 people are reported to have died but this figure is expected to rise as the thick mud is cleared from the worst hit areas.

More than 450,000 people have been displaced by the storm and approximately 380,000 people are living in makeshift shelters.

Plan’s country office is located in Manila, but Programme Units operate mainly in the east and west of the middle Visayan region. Many of our staff have been severely affected, with their houses either partly submerged or in waist-deep or knee-deep floodwaters.

Plan staff in Vietnam are preparing their response after the storm hit the coastal provinces of Vietnam on Tuesday. Ten people are reported to have been killed and over 200,000 people are said to have been evacuated from the affected regions.

Plan Philippines' Country Director, Michael Diamond, said from Manila: “The severity of the flooding has really caught everyone by surprise as the wind wasn’t that strong.

“One minute the streets were dry, next minute, they were waist-deep in water. It rained for nine hours straight, it was quite extraordinary. I have never seen rain like it in all my years here.”

The typhoon has reportedly caused the heaviest rain the country has seen in 50 years, with several feet of water submerging Manila. Landslides in some areas have added to problems. Power was shut down as a safety measure and water supplies have also been affected and concern is growing over the spread of disease due to problems with open defecation and the proper storage of bodies.