Habitat Assesses Recent Disasters In Thailand And Indonesia
HFH Philippines Coordinating With Government And Partner Agencies For Response To Typhoon Megi
BANGKOK, 12th November 2010: Habitat for Humanity assessment teams are investigating how Habitat can best assist after heavy monsoon rains fell across Thailand and recent disasters in Indonesia.
Residents wading through flood waters in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand.
Ash-covered Kinarrejo village in Yogyakarta after Mount Merapi started erupting. Reuters photo by Beawiharta, courtesy of www.alertnet.org
A resident surveying the damage after Typhoon Megi hit Ilagan City in Isabela province in the north of the Philippines. Reuters photo by stringer, courtesy of www.alertnet.org.
A Habitat assessment team is currently in southern Thailand determining the extent of damage.
Thirty of the country’s 76 provinces are badly affected with the worst-hit areas in Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung in the south.
A total of over 180 people died in the floods with more than three million people reported to be affected.
Meanwhile, HFH Indonesia will be responding to the Mount Merapi eruption and the Mentawai tsunami.
HFH Indonesia is seeking funding from potential donors such as the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
One option would be to distribute either materials or shelter kits for house repair and provide disaster response training to affected communities.
On 26th October, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami which struck the Mentawai islands, off the coast of Sumatra and near to the seat of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
At the same time, the 3,000-meter high Mount Merapi in central Java started the first of a series of eruptions that have caused more than 400 deaths and displaced tens of thousands of people.
Elsewhere, HFH Philippines is planning and coordinating with government and partner agencies for a possible response after Typhoon Megi left a trail of destruction in its path. Habitat is also carrying out an assessment in affected areas.
Typhoon Megi made landfall in northern Philippines on 18th October. The Category Five super typhoon packed winds of 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour).
An estimated 26 people were reported to have been killed and tens of thousands of homes were damaged.
The typhoon weakened as it swept toward southern China but dumped record rains in Vietnam and Taiwan.
While Hong Kong was spared from Typhoon Megi, HFH China took precautions for elderly residents in Tai O, its Hong Kong fishing village project.
In addition to moving furniture and appliances, HFH China’s Hong Kong office also strengthened the elderly people’s homes’ windows to protect against strong winds. A church hall was designated as a temporary shelter.