Landslides in the Philippines
On Friday, February 17, entire villages in the Southern Leyte province in the Philippines were buried under a torrent of mud from a landslide caused by on-going heavy rains. Damages from the landslide are estimated to be more than $3 million. The Philippine National Red Cross is reporting over 1,000 confirmed missing and expects that number to rise. Among the missing are approximately 200 children who were attending a school that was buried under more than 50 feet of mud. The Catholic community in the region has responded quickly with four parishes serving 2,000 families at 14 evacuation centers.
Villagers gather after a mudslide buried houses and a packed elementary school in the remote farming village of Guinsaugon in the central Philippines February 18.
CRS Responds
CRS is collaborating relief efforts closely with the National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (NASSA)/Caritas Philippines to assist with the provision of immediate needs for the evacuees including rice, sleeping mats, soap and milk for children. To date, CRS has authorized an initial $86,000 to help the evacuees but expects to commit more the $280,000 to the longer term relief effort.
CRS and NASSA have ageed upon the importance of relocating families currently in evacuation sites to more permanent shelters in an effort to minimize the long-term suffering of those families. CRS' shelter expert is headed to the region to develop a strategy for relocating more than 300 families to permanent housing. CRS and partner organizations are already searching for a safe location to build new homes for the affected families.
CRS Background in the Philippines
CRS has been working in the Philippines continuously since 1945 when it launched relief and reconstruction efforts in the wake of World War II. To this day, CRS continues to provide relief to victims of natural and man-made emergencies, as well as supporting ongoing programs in Peace and Reconciliation, Health, Enterprise Development, and Agriculture/Natural Resource Management.
