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NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > PHILIPPINES RIDING THE WAVE OF TROPICAL STORM KETSANA
PHILIPPINES RIDING THE WAVE OF TROPICAL STORM KETSANA
September 29 2009
Manila, The Philippines – Some of the worst flooding ever has hit The Philippines, washing away cities and crippling the capital city, Manila. Thus far, 246 people have been reported dead and 2 million displaced.
The flooding is a result of Tropical Storm Ketsana which struck the country on Saturday, dumping a month’s worth of rain on the capital which is home to more than 12 million people. Regions around the Pasig River received the brunt of the flooding.
“The water just kept rising and rising and we didn’t know what to do. One minute we were in the kitchen preparing food and the next we were ankle deep in water and it just got worse from there,” said one woman who had to be evacuated from her home. “I knew it was unusual because normally water doesn’t get that high inside the house. Occasionally the toilet overflows and it runs into the kitchen but that really just gets your feet a little wet and it usually doesn’t require evacuation.”
The storm strengthened as it moved towards Vietnam though only 23 people have been killed there with an additional 170,000 evacuated. That is believed to be, in part, due to very poor record keeping by government officials.
“The rivers are rising, and many homes are flooded, and several mountainous districts have been isolated by mudslides,” said a provincial disaster official in Vietnam. “Luckily our census workers are few and far between so we do not have a totally accurate portrait of how many people are in the country never mind how many may have died so that has helped our numbers quite significantly. 
It’s believed the death toll in The Philippines will increase over the next few days due in part to disease and a result of a handful of people still being unaccounted for throughout the Manila area. Outlying regions affected by the flooding likely have endured major casualties but those deaths will be attributed to other causes.
“The fear and tension is palpable here. People in this country haven’t seen this kind of flooding in over forty years and so are totally ill-prepared to deal with it. There’s panic in the streets, well more like flailing, and many people are concerned that they will never be able to return to their homes. Even in that panic though there is a great deal of hope,” said Scrape 
TV South Asian Field correspondent Arturo Lam. “The Philippines has long been the most prominent country throughout the region and this crisis will likely only bring new attention to the country. Already foreign countries have begun pledging support and grass root initiatives have begun sending canned food and clothing the likes of which are rarely seen in this country. The country may soon realize that a flood might be the best thing that could have happened to the country.”
Large Filipino communities in western nations, specifically Canada, The United States, and Australia have been collecting goods on an industrial scale to send to family members in the country.
“Families in the Philippines frequently rely on shipments from overseas and this crisis will only increase those contributions meaning a sort of boom time for the country. They will have to bring buckets when they return but all kinds of western goods will be awaiting them, something that really means a lot to the people in the country,” continued Lam. “People here need food, water, fresh clothing, DVD’s, videogames, and really anything that people will be able to use as they recover from this crisis.”
Very few goods have been sent to Vietnam and it is expected that that will not change in the near future.
Emil Uliya, International Correspondent
NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > PHILIPPINES RIDING THE WAVE OF TROPICAL STORM KETSANA
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