Philippines begins to rebuild flood-hit areas
Philippines begins to rebuild flood-hit areas
Manila, Reuters
Hundreds of army and civilian engineers have begun massive
construction work in the northern Philippines to rebuild flood-
hit areas that have been cut off from the rest of the country for
weeks.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on Saturday that the
reconstruction was in full swing.
"Today, we begin the rehabilitation phase of our response to
the disaster of the four storms," she said in the town of Infanta
on the east coast, which bore the brunt.
Damage to crops, fishing and infrastructure is estimated at
4.69 billion pesos (US$83 million). It will take weeks to restore
power to the worst-hit areas, clear roads and rebuild bridges.
Teams of army and navy engineers have begun repairing half a
dozen bridges after clearing 35 km of highway to Infanta, one of
three towns that were badly hit.
Also on Saturday, the U.S. Marines turned over $1 million
worth of tents, generators, blankets, medical supplies and water
containers to Philippine disaster officials as it pulled out 650
troops after two weeks of relief operations.
Arroyo thanked Washington for its help in the relief effort, saying the
role played by U.S. troops in delivery of emergency rations
"speaks of the mighty ties that are shared by time-honored allies
across the Pacific".
She said the $7 million in total U.S. assistance was the
biggest contribution by an individual foreign government to her
government's relief efforts.
Manila has received close to 100 million pesos ($1.8 million)
in cash, emergency rations and equipment from the international
community, including foreign non-government organization.
International aid agencies continued to appeal for support to
combat potential disease outbreaks in flood-stricken areas,
saying more than $8 million in additional aid was needed during
the next three months.
Logging has been blamed for making a natural disaster worse.
Arroyo has ordered cancellation of all permits to cut and haul
trees but timber companies have scuttled previous attempts in
Congress to ban logging.
Nearly 1,800 people are dead or missing in eastern and
northern provinces on Luzon island after a typhoon and three
tropical storms in two weeks set off torrents of water, mud,
boulders and logs that swept away villages and bridges.
Close to four million Filipinos have been affected. With
disease a major worry, the U.S Marines helped speed up efforts to
get food, clean water, medicine and shelter to 880,000 people
marooned by floods and landslides.