300 000 still homeless after Typhoon Bopha
2012-12-21 22:22
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Typhoon Bopha ripped through the Philippines killing 420 and leaving thousands displaced. See the pictures.
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 on Friday.
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 €13.4m emergency appeal.
Typhoon Bopha slammed into the southern Philippines in
early December, wreaking havoc mainly across the island of Mindanao.
