Typhoon Damage Spares No One
Source: Children International - USA
Dolores Quinn Kitchin
Website: http://www.children.org
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
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Heavy winds and rains have leveled telephone poles and hampered communication.
KANSAS CITY, Mo - Anthony Lorcha is accustomed to covering disasters and the human toll that they take on communities. But the devastation left behind by Typhoon Durian hits too close to home for this former journalist.
Lorcha, a communications specialist working for Children International in Legazpi, The Philippines, was almost counted as one of the1,000 victims of the super typhoon.
According to the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, more than 636 people in the area are still missing. But for Lorcha, he knows he could have easily become a statistic.
"For two days, I was declared missing. The bridge connecting our villages was destroyed and we were trapped here. We all lost roofs and some even have lost their entire house. I was fortunate, only our house was blown away," said Lorcha.
No one, rich and poor alike, was spared by Durian. Utilities and roads were washed out by floodwaters caused by torrential rainfall, leaving communications with the rest of the world nearly impossible.
Children International assists more than 36,000 children in this impoverished area of the Philippines. Children International's board of directors approved $1.5 million to help affected families in initial relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts. More than 10 times that is needed to rebuild homes destroyed in the typhoon.
"Everyone needs help. We were all victims of the typhoon. We need people's support to move onÂ…" Lorcha concluded.
Children International is accepting donations to help in the rebuilding efforts. To donate, visit www.children.org.
About Children International:
Established in 1936, Children International is a nonprofit organization with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Children International's programs benefit over 320,000 poor children and their families in 11 countries around the world, including Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Zambia and the United States. For more information about Children International, visit www.children.org.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
