New storm wrecks Yolanda victims’ shelters

Agence France-Presse

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More than 1,000 Yolanda survivors in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, flee to government buildings as Agaton flattened tents, ripped the roofing off temporary shelters

SHELTER NEEDED. Makeshift shelters such as these in Guiuan, Eastern Samar didn't stand a chance against torrential rains from Tropical Depressing Agaton and the low pressure area. November 11 file photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations warned Monday, January 20, more needed to be done to help millions displaced by the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon, after a new cyclone tore down flimsy shelters.

More than 1,000 survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) fled to the safety of government buildings in the town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar over the weekend as Tropical Depression Agaton flattened tents and ripped the roofing off other temporary shelters, officials said.

“The [new] cyclone is a reminder that more needs to be done…for vulnerable displaced people,” Russell Geekie, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told Agence France-Presse.

Guiuan was where Yolanda made its first landfall on November 8.

Yolanda left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing and more than 4 million others homeless across the central islands, officials said.

The government is building temporary housing while looking for safe relocation sites for survivors of coastal communities ravaged by giant waves unleashed by Haiyan, warning the rebuilding would take years.

A UN aid appeal for nearly $800 million last month for Haiyan relief is about 42% funded, but the component for shelters was “only a fifth funded,” Geekie said.

British aid group Oxfam also warned the temporary shelters given to Haiyan survivors were no match for the extreme weather in the Philippines, which is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, along with frequent earthquakes.

“In one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, it’s critical we quickly provide safe homes… for those continuing to live in dangerous and difficult locations,” its country director Justin Morgan said in a statement.

The government said the new storm had killed at least 40 people on the southern region of Mindanao, outside of the areas devastated by Haiyan.

But in Guiuan up to 30 tents collapsed, while standing water also soaked through the floors of others, said Murad Ullah, the local operations chief for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesman Herminio Coloma confirmed the damage to the tents and a government-built bunkhouse.

“They (occupants) will be accorded every assistance that is needed,” he told reporters. –Rappler.com

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