Regional News
Getting Aid to Victims Of Typhoon Haiyan – VIDEOS
PHILIPPINES – Desperate pleas for food and water forced aid organizations and nations around the world to scramble Wednesday to deliver supplies four days after Typhoon Haiyan flattened areas of the Philippines, where bodies still litter the streets in one devastated province.
Rain from a tropical depression grounded some relief flights, while blocked roads and poor conditions at some airports made delivering other aid a difficult proposition, increasing the misery of survivors and raising anxiety.
“I fear anarchy happening in Tacloban City,” said CNN iReporter Maelene Alcala, who was on vacation in Tacloban where the typhoon struck and was evacuated to Manila. “It’s like survival of the fittest.”
A man looks at his home destroyed by Typhoon Hayian in Tacloban, PhilippinesTacloban, the provincial capital of the island of Leyte, was ground zero for the typhoon that struck Friday, leaving the city in ruins and its population of more than 200,000 in desperate conditions.
Tons of food from around the world have arrived in the Philippines, but the hundreds of thousands homeless and hungry after Typhoon Haiyan decimated part of the country have yet to get a bite of it.
Endless landscapes of devastation were still blocking roads leading to the hardest hit areas Wednesday.
The World Food Programme has delivered at least 2,700 tons of rice to the country, but the logistical nightmare of traveling to the many islands ripped to pieces by one of the strongest storms in recorded history has it arriving in drips and drabs.
Clearing roads and runways has taken a long time, UNICEF spokesman Christopher De Bono said.
“I don’t think that’s anyone’s fault. I think it’s the geography and the devastation,” he said.
The level of desolation Haiyan left behind in a country that is used to sitting out a barrage of typhoons every year took aid organizations off guard, De Bono said.
“Nobody was quite able to anticipate it.”
Glimmer of hope
“We need food; we need to eat!” a crowd gathered and chanted, after a cargo plane full of food opened its loading bay in Guiuan Tuesday.
People walk past a victim left on the side of a road in Tacloban.The town of 50,000 was wiped off the map by the storm Friday.
Haiyan made its first landfall there. The storm left at least 2,275 people dead and injured 3,665 more, according to the Philippine disaster agency.
The first food deliveries in Guiuan and in Tacloban, the city hit hardest by the typhoon, represent a glimmer of hope — at least to aid workers. It’s an initial sign of success after days of frustration.
“Good news from Philippines,” the UN food program announced Wednesday. “WFP food distributions underway in Tacloban this morning. Rice provided to 3,000 people.”
It’s a start. But more than 2 million people need food aid, the Philippine government has said.
“I understand that that’s not a glimmer of hope for people on the ground, who are still waiting for assistance,” De Bono said.
He hopes to see aid delivery leap forward Wednesday. Many air strips have been cleared in devastated areas, and one flight after another lands carrying basic food.
But CNN crews on the ground have seen no sign yet of an organized cleanup or recovery operation in the most desperate areas.
Help is long overdue, storm survivor John Wynn told Anderson Cooper. “They need help now, not in a few days or in a few hours.”
In Guiuan, anticipation and desperation spread across the faces of residents as they watched troops unload bags of rice and boxes of bottled water from the C-130 cargo plane.
People ride past destruction in TaclobanMany of them have been drinking filthy water to survive. And that could endanger their health, since the storm has strewn sewage into the water supply.
“The sanitation systems have been destroyed and children are of course the most vulnerable to cholera, which is a common occurrence after these kinds of disasters,” De Bono said.
Decomposing bodies
Bodies of storm victims still lie in the debris, or out in the open. The government has not been able to count all of them yet, but fears of an exponentially higher death toll have subsided.
Authorities initially predicted that Haiyan may have killed as many as 10,000 people, but Philippine President Benigno Aquino III told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the final number would more likely be around 2,000 to 2,500.
Bodies decomposing in the sun commonly raise fears that they could contribute to the spread of disease. But that’s usually not the case, said CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
“From a pure health threat standpoint, there are bigger threats,” he said. People need clean food and water.
The slowness of food and basic medical aid delivery is the biggest threat to lives, Gupta said.
“There are people there right now who can be saved. And it could be as simple as antibiotics that cost a penny.”
On social media, a government spokeswoman asked for donations of vaccines and antibiotics.
“We have 3k flu vaccines already. Meds needed: tetanus toxoid, doxycycline, cloxacillin,” Lucille Sering posted to Twitter.
The World Health Organization agrees with Gupta that illnesses are a secondary concern. “Disease is not a big fear,” said spokeswoman Julie Hall. Clean food and water take priority, as well as shelter from the elements.
Homeless, grieving
About half of the displaced have crowded into evacuation centers. There are hundreds of thousands left without homes, and aid organizations are struggling to get roofs over their heads.
“We’re bringing in 20,000 shelter kits, hygiene kits,” USAID spokesman Ben Hemingway said. Those shelter kits are sheets of plastic that survivors can hang up over their heads, he explained.
What happens with the bodies of the dead is important to public health, even if the corpses don’t significantly spread disease, Hall said. Survivors need to know where they are to be able to grieve and move on and take care of themselves.
In Tacloban, survivor Juan Martinez can’t do that yet.
He sits underneath a makeshift shack where his home once stood. Nearby, the bodies of his wife and two children are covered by sacks.
“I really want someone to collect their bodies, so I know where they are taken,” he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “I want to know where they are taken.”
Daughter, son dead; wife missing
Everybody in his town is searching for somebody.
A dog led Yan Chow and a search crew to the body of his daughter, buried underneath debris in Tacloban.
Chow had been looking for his two children and his wife since the storm hit. He was texting with his daughter when the messages suddenly stopped, about the time a massive storm surge may have hit the city.
Her body was found not too far from where they found her brother, some distance from their house, Chow said. He still does not know where his wife is.
There are thousands like him, who have lost part or all of their families, many of them sitting next to their corpses under makeshift shelters.
Traumatized Tacloban
At a hospital in Tacloban, many wait for treatment, but there is no electricity and few supplies. It was too late for one young mother, who cradled her dead baby in her arms.
“I’m going crazy,” she said. “I want to go back home.” But home is gone.
Nine-year-old Rastin Teves made it out of Tacloban, but will take the horrifying sights she saw there with her for a long time.
“I’ve seen dead people on the streets and the sidewalks,” she said. “It made me feel scared.”
The smell of decomposing bodies also stuck with her. She watched people break into shops to take whatever they needed.
Rays of hope
A ray of hope broke through Tacloban’s dark misfortune Wednesday.
A team of 148 search and medical workers departed Israel Wednesday with plans to set up an emergency hospital there. They are bringing 100 tons of humanitarian and medical supplies with them, Israel’s foreign minister said.
The U.S. Marine Corps is sending four more Osprey aircraft, it said Wednesday, bringing the total number of the part-plane-part-helicopters to eight. Ospreys can land and take off in remote areas like choppers, but fly further than helicopters on less fuel and carry bigger payloads.
And authorities cleared a landing strip in the neighboring province of Samar, the Philippine government said, giving aid planes better access to the ravaged city.
Tacloban’s own airport is choked with survivors clamoring to get on a handful of flights out of the wreckage that was once their city. Many are not getting out, and they have transformed the airport into a homeless shelter.
The lucky ones
In tragedy’s midst, there are a few happy stories.
Indiana residents Ron Johnston and his wife, Charity, whose parents live in the devastated town of Baybay, were overjoyed to hear that they survived the storm.
Charity Johnston last spoke to her father on Thursday as Typhoon Haiyan was bearing down on the Philippines, but a cousin found her parents and notified her that they were alive.
Their house is completely gone, along with everything they own. “But they didn’t lose the precious thing,” Johnston said. “Life.”
Hospitals caring for survivors are overfilled, undersupplied and often have no electricity.
But in a hospital in Tacloban this week, a baby was born. Neighbors brought the mother in after she went into labor in the wreckage of the storm. No complications, no bleeding. A perfect delivery. Doctors and other patients erupted in applause.
PHILIPPINES AID (IN U.S. $)
U.N.: 25 million, U.S.: 20 million, UK: 16.1 million, UAE: 10 million, Australia: 9.5 million, Canada: 4.8 million
European Union: 4 million, Norway: 3.4 million, Denmark: 3.1 million, New Zealand: 1.75 million, Ireland: 1.4 million, Vatican: 150,000, China: 100,000
CEBU CITY
Tacloban City
Thailand’s Immigration Police have detained approximately 26,000 illegal migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia during an eight-day operation in Bangkok and surrounding regions, according to a Royal Thai Police spokesperson.
Mr Adisorn Keudmeuangkhon of the Bangkok-based Migrant Working Group said the drive was in response to an increasing number of concerns about an influx of illegal migrant labor.
“Some Thai people see that many illegal workers are competing for their job positions in the past few months,” he told me. “That’s why the ministry has to take tougher action.”
Civil strife in Myanmar and the recent implementation of a military conscription have driven thousands of Burmese into Thailand, while severe inflation and limited job opportunities in Laos have also encouraged an influx of workers from that country.
Between June 5 and 12, officials detained and checked 20,111 Myanmar laborers, 1,659 Laotian migrant workers, and 3,971 Cambodian workers, according to the Ministry of Labor.
It marked the start of a 120-day campaign to audit workplaces and arrest unlawful migrant workers, according to the government.
Migrant Workers to be Deported
According to Keudmeuangkhon, undocumented workers face fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 Thai baht (US $136 to $1,365), deportation, and a two-year prohibition on re-entering Thailand.
Authorities did not intend to file criminal charges, he claimed.
Authorities raided 1,774 workplaces, according to Moe Gyo, chairman of the Joint Action Committee on Burmese Affairs, which advocates for Myanmar labor rights.
He stated that since the military junta activated conscription, there has been an upsurge in the number of arrests of Myanmar citizens in Thailand who do not have a work permit identity card.
All men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 must serve in the military for at least two years. The first group of 5,000 conscripts summoned by Myanmar’s junta will start duty at the end of this month, military sources told AFP on Monday.
According to Keudmeuangkhon, the bulk of Lao migrant workers in Thailand work as fresh market shopkeepers, restaurant servers, and mall salespeople.
Most people visit Thailand as part of ASEAN’s visa-free policy for tourists, but they stay longer than the 30-day restriction once they find job.
“Employers like to hire Lao migrant workers in the service sector because they can speak fluent Thai,” he told me.
Immigration Police Detain Illegal Migrant Workers
The Thai Cabinet may approve an enhanced program for Thai employers to register their unauthorized foreign workers in July or August. Keudmeuangkhon explained.
Last month, the Thai Ministry of Labor’s Foreign Workers Administration office announced that 268,465 Lao migrant workers were officially working in Thailand.
Baykham Kattiya, Lao Minister of Labor, told Radio Free Asia earlier this month that there are 415,956 migrant workers in other nations, the majority of whom work in Thailand.
According to her, the Lao government believes that over 203,000 persons working outside of the nation lack proper work documents.
However, a Lao official familiar with the labor industry informed Radio Free Asia, a BenarNews-affiliated news station, on June 20 that the number of illegal Lao migrant workers in Thailand and abroad is likely significantly greater.
“They go to other countries as illegal migrant workers through different types of methods – as tourists or students,” said the politician. “Thus, it is hard for the immigration police to collect data on these people.”
Government Officials Responsible for Smuggling in Migrant Workers
Government Officials Responsible for Smuggling in Migrant Workers
Thailand’s Office of Basic Education Commission has initiated an investigation into the electrocution of a 14-year-old student by a water dispenser in a high school. The event happened at noon on Friday, during the high school’s sports day. The victim was a Grade 8 student.
According to local media in Trang Province, the incident occurred when a teacher instructed the pupil to turn off a water dispenser amid a heavy rain.
According to a witness, the child collapsed while strolling with his friend near a water station. The friend claimed he attempted to assist but was also shocked by electricity.
According to reports, the friend then recovered, left the site, and requested assistance from teachers. A teacher ran to the scene and used a towel to pull the boy away by the ankle. He was taken to the hospital, but it was too late, they claimed.
The event sparked criticism from parents and netizens over school safety, as well as the slow response to aid the young youngster.
Mr. Chainarong Changrua, head of Trang-Krabi’s Secondary Educational Service Area Office, told local media on Sunday that forensic officers from Trang Provincial Police had visited the area. They discovered the blown breaker switch behind the water dispenser, he explained.
The breaker was burned out, thus the authorities assumed the disaster was caused by a short circuit that allowed energy to spill to a neighboring power pole. The student also appeared wet and was not wearing shoes when electrocuted.
According to the Office of Basic Education Commission, a probe team will complete its investigation this week.
The student’s father, Mr Pornchai Thepsuwan, 53, claimed he was saddened when he saw his son’s body. The boy (Wayu), was the youngest of two boys, he explained. He stated that following the tragedy, the school director and staff gave financial assistance to the families.
Mr Pornchai also said he would not seek charges against the institution because he believed it was an accident.
Electrical accidents in Thailand
Electrocution instances in Thailand have increased alarmingly in recent years. Many mishaps occur as a result of improper wiring and inadequate maintenance of electrical systems.
Public locations, such as schools and markets, frequently lack adequate safety precautions, putting individuals in danger. In rural areas, antiquated infrastructure exacerbates the situation, resulting in more frequent and serious events.
Although several high-profile cases have brought these challenges to light, genuine progress has been gradual. Furthermore, the rainy season heightens the likelihood of electrical accidents, as water and exposed wires do not mix well.
The government has made steps to strengthen safety standards, but enforcement is patchy. More education on electrical safety could help to reduce these accidents.
Unfortunately, better infrastructure and tougher rules may have prevented many of these incidents. The loss and injuries caused by electrocution are avoidable, emphasizing the need for immediate action.
Over 200 High School Students Facing Sedition Charges in Thailand
Over 200 High School Students Facing Sedition Charges in Thailand
Thailand’s Tourist Police said it is collaborating with embassies from five countries to combat tourist scams and ten criminal gangs in Pattaya. The Tourist Police Bureau, convened a meeting on Thursday Pol Lt Gen Saksira Phuek-am told a press briefing.
Pol Lt Gen Saksira Phuek-am, the Tourist Police bureau commissioner said the participants included ambassadors from South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, India, and Switzerland.
He told the briefing the he had ordered a crackdown on tourist frauds, such as fraudulent or low-quality tour operators and unfair sales of goods and services. Stepped-up operations began on June 19 and will continue until June 25.
He stated that the agency was working with numerous organisations to increase tourists’ confidence in visiting Pattaya.
Gen Saksira spent time on the famed Walking Street speaking with officers on duty and assigned them to seek for members of ten criminal groups known to operate in Pattaya.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will visit Chon Buri on Saturday to assess the tourism situation. He intends to visit the site of a future Formula One racecourse near Khao Phra Tamnak in Bang Lamung District.
Prime Minister Srettha recently met with Formula One organisers in Italy to examine the potential of including Thailand on the race schedule in the future.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister will pay a visit to Rayong’s U-tapao airport to discuss development on the airport’s land, with the goal of encouraging investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor.
Police Chief Reinstated
In other police news, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol has been reinstated as national police chief following the conclusion of an investigation into a highly publicised quarrel, according to Wissanu Krea-ngam, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s counsellor.
Mr Wissanu released the investigation’s findings on Thursday, after the prime minister formed a fact-finding committee chaired by Chatchai Promlert to investigate into the quarrel between Pol Gen Torsak and his deputy, Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn.
The four-month study revealed conflicts and disorder at all levels of the Royal Thai Police, but it was unclear whether these issues arose from a single cause or several causes, according to Mr Wissanu.
The findings revealed that both Pol Gen Torsak and Pol Gen Surachate were involved, with each team contributing to the tensions, he noted.
Mr Wissanu indicated that Pol Gen Surachate was reinstated as deputy national police head on 18 April following his relocation to the Prime Minister’s Office on 20 March. A disciplinary committee was formed to investigate Pol Gen Surachate, and he was ordered temporarily suspended from the police force.
Because there were no further difficulties to explore, it was decided to restore Pol Gen Torsak. He plans to retire on September 30.
On March 20, Mr Srettha abruptly transferred both top police officers to the Prime Minister’s Office in an effort to address the growing schism within the police service.
Kitrat Panphet, Deputy National Police Chief, was subsequently named Acting Police Chief. According to sources, Pol Gen Surachate could face money laundering charges related to online gaming networks.
Source: Bangkok Post
-
News3 years agoLet’s Know About Ultra High Net Worth Individual
-
Entertainment1 year ago
Mabelle Prior: The Voice of Hope, Resilience, and Diversity Inspiring Generations
-
Health3 years agoHow Much Ivermectin Should You Take?
-
Tech2 years agoTop Forex Brokers of 2023: Reviews and Analysis for Successful Trading
-
Lifestyles2 years agoAries Soulmate Signs
-
Health2 years agoCan I Buy Ivermectin Without A Prescription in the USA?
-
Movies2 years agoWhat Should I Do If Disney Plus Keeps Logging Me Out of TV?
-
Learning2 years agoVirtual Numbers: What Are They For?