Death Toll Hits 240 In Philippine Flooding

Chandler Thomas
Soc 202 TR 12:30
10/01/2009
12:54pm
Blog #5

Death Toll Hits 240 In Philippine Flooding

In the Philippines, families fled and parents tried despertately to save their children as they watched a horrific flood devastate their homes and housing. After the water came the fires, so its needless to say that most homes were lost or too massacred to live in again. The big question surrounding this ordeal is whether or not the residents and families had sufficient warning. The Philippine's government has received massive criticism on this aspect, especially since the death toll is now nearing 250. The next criticism they're receiving is concerning the help and aid the families need to get back on their feet safely. They have appealed for international aid and gained a positive response from the American Embassy, who stated that they would deploy their Navy personnel to the Philippine's rescue effort and would also give them $50,000 in disaster aid funds. Everybody is overwhelmed and spread thin over this situation. Its unfortunate too because their families that need them are still suffering and attempting to recover on their own. The residents that made it through the flood are now dying from the horrible fires. Another event that did not help the situation was that they just received the largest amount of rainfall that they've had in half a century. So now, 80% of the metropolis area is flooded. The statistics concerning the aftermath of this disaster are as follows; 2 million people were affected, over 100,000 of them are now displaced, and they got 16.7 inches of rain with just 12 hours. With all the standing water leftover which does not appear to be moving yet, some families are stranded in homes and buildings. One major concern has come from the Health Department about the possible spread of disease and illness. The families and residents that have reached, on their own, some decent level of recovery, are now fairly outraged over the realization that they had no warning. The metropolitan area of Manila has been termed as being in a "state of calamity". These areas are receiving help from emergency relief funds.

The effects on these families is atrocious because they had no sufficient warning. Parents and small children are now practically abandoned and left to fend for themselves because the government didn't know what to do. Its really sad to think that they could have evacuated with no lives lost if they had been told what was coming.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/world/asia/29philip.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print