300,000 still homeless after Typhoon Bopha: IFRC

HONG KONG – Some 300,000 people remain homeless in the Philippines following a deadly typhoon earlier this month, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said Friday, December 21.

The IFRC said urgent humanitarian assistance was needed to help around 200,000 of those affected by Typhoon Bopha — the deadliest storm to have struck the Philippines this year, killing more than 1,000 across the archipelago.

“The situation is truly desperate,” Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross said.

“So many people who had very little before the typhoon struck have been left with virtually nothing.

“The next few weeks will be critical. We have to meet people’s basic daily needs, such as food and water, but they also need help to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.”

Pang said the homes of at least 330,000 people had been destroyed, leaving families in temporary evacuation centres or with relatives, as the IFRC launched a 13.4 million euros ($17.7m) emergency appeal.

Typhoon Bopha slammed into the southern Philippines in early December, wreaking havoc mainly across the island of Mindanao. – Rappler.com