Thousands homeless after killer Indian cyclone

GOPALPUR - Tens of thousands of people who fled India's strongest cyclone in 14 years returned to discover their homes and livelihoods destroyed Monday, as a massive relief operation kicked into gear.

One million people were forced to seek refuge in shelters and government buildings after the terrifying cyclone struck eastern India on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and leaving a trail of destruction along the coast.

Cyclone Phailin was dissipating rapidly after pounding the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, bringing winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour (125 miles per hour), uprooting trees, overturning trucks, and knocking out power lines.

Residents, some carrying their children and clutching bags of possessions, and who hours earlier were huddled in shelters, made their way back to their towns and villages fearing the worst.

"I left everything (behind) and when I came back nothing was here," said Bhagwan, 50, who uses one name, a coconut seller from the hard-hit Orissa town of Gopalpur, as he sat on the ground in front of his destroyed shop.

Some 600,000 people were left homeless in Orissa after the ferocious storm tore through thousands of villages, the state's special relief commissioner, Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, told AFP.

Many were poor fishermen and farmers living in mud and thatched dwellings, including in the worst affected area around Gopalpur, where the eye of Phailin came ashore.

"I lost my house and also a small shaving shop, I lost everything," Janardan, 32, who uses one name, said from inside his tiny dwelling in Gopalpur. The cyclone collapsed the roof, leaving Janardan and his wife to begin the clean-up.

Seventeen people were killed in Orissa and one person further south in Andhra Pradesh, government and disaster management officials said.

"The 17 deaths were due to people being crushed by falling trees, walls, roofs," R.S. Gopalan, the senior state government official coordinating relief operations in Orissa, told AFP.

India's President Pranab Mukherjee expressed sadness late Sunday over those killed and urged authorities to provide speedy relief and rehabilitation to all families by the disaster.

But Mukherjee also congratulated relief officials on the "high level of preparedness" which seemed to have limited the number of casualties.

More than 8,000 people were killed in 1999 when a cyclone hit the same region, devastating crops and livestock. The area took years to recover.

This time, the massive evacuation operation, which officials said was the biggest in Indian history, appeared to have succeeded in minimising casualties.

But despite the low death toll, the cyclone left a trail of destruction and hundreds of workers from the country's National Disaster Response Force fanned out across the region, clearing away fallen trees, mangled power poles, and other debris, a statement said.

Other relief workers distributed food at shelters and treated the injured, while authorities worked to restore power and other services.

India's airforce deployed helicopters and transport aircraft to help supply food, water and medical supplies to those in need.

In a remarkable story of survival, 18 fishermen trapped four kilometres (2.4 miles) offshore in rough seas abandoned their trawler as the cyclone approached, the Press Trust of India reported.

The fishermen swam to shore and were discovered on Sunday before being taken to a local hospital near the port of Paradip in Orissa, state government officials were quoted by PTI as saying.

Some 1,000 people marooned by the storm surge in a village in Andhra Pradesh were also rescued by boat, a senior disaster response official told a press conference in New Delhi.

Officials in Orissa said 873,000 people moved before the cyclone made landfall on Saturday evening, while at least another 100,000 were evacuated in Andhra Pradesh. Residents were also evacuated from coastal regions of West Bengal state.

High-sided trucks lying on their sides were witness to the strength of the winds on the main highway south of Gopalpur, which was littered with uprooted trees and other debris.

Some of the deadliest storms in history have formed in the Bay of Bengal, including one in 1970 that killed hundreds of thousands of people in modern-day Bangladesh.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

EU gives P192 million for Sendong victims' projects

MANILA, Philippines -- The European Union approved an additional P192 million for projects to support survivors of storm “Sendong” (international codename: Washi) in northern Mindanao as they rebuild their homes and livelihoods.

The projects will be implemented in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities and affected rural communities in Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur (Region X & ARMM) and Negros Oriental (Region VII).

Ambassador Guy Ledoux, head of the EU Delegation, explained the importance of these projects: “While the floods in Mindanao were over very quickly the humanitarian needs have not gone away as quickly.”

“Although the cameras have left and the headlines have changed, we are not leaving the victims behind but trying to ensure that he communities can get back on their feet,” he added.

The additional funding is the second commitment by the European Commission through its Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department, following an initial decision in December 2011 to provide P162 million in emergency aid for debris cleanup, emergency rehabilitation, food assistance, non-food items, shelter support, coordination and management of evacuation centers/camps, health and hygiene promotion, water and sanitation, psychological support and protection.

More than 154,000 individuals will benefit from this assistance.

Partners in these new projects in Mindanao include the International Organization for Migration, the German Red Cross and a consortium of non-governmental relief organizations led by Acción Contra el Hambre, including Save the Children, Plan International and Care Netherlands.

The focus continues to be on water/sanitation, hygiene promotion, IDP camp management/temporary shelter, food security/ livelihood, humanitarian aid coordination and protection.

EU humanitarian aid experts visited the affected regions between 5 and 14 March 2012 and witnessed the good use of the EU assistance in the immediate aftermath of the typhoon.

Their assessment was that many people were still displaced and in need of basic assistance like shelter, food, water and sanitation, six months after the disaster. This led to the decision to provide additional support.

The additional aid brings the European Union’s assistance for Sendong survivors to P566 million for the victims of Sendong, sourced from contributions from the European Commission and several EU member-states.

On January 4 this year, Ledoux led a group of EU diplomats on a visit to northern Mindanao to express solidarity and support for the Sendong survivors as well as to assess the progress and effectiveness of the EU assistance.

The EU was one of the first to provide immediate aid to the typhoon victims.

Within 48 hours of the disaster, three ECHO experts were deployed to Mindanao to assess the humanitarian situation, leading to the swift release of the P162 million in emergency aid.

source: interaksyon.com

Japan's $3 million grant to boost garbage collectors' incomes

MANILA – Six thousand garbage workers and collectors in several areas in the Philippines will get a boost to their incomes following a $3 million grant from the Japan Social Development Fund, the World Bank said.

“This grant, which is intended to improve the livelihood of informal garbage workers in selected areas and provide better opportunities for them, will thus help address the impact of the implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act,” Motoo Konishi, World Bank country director said in a statement, who signed the grant agreement.

Under Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, local government units are required to modernize their solid waste management practices and convert open dumpsites into sanitary landfills. These changes may affect the livelihood of garbage workers and itinerant waste buyers.

“This is a very important project because it helps address the plight of one of the most marginalized groups in society—men, women and children earning a living from garbage,” Konishi said.

Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines work informally collecting, segregating and selling wastes. These groups, referred to as the “informal waste sector,” earn a living either in dumpsites or collect waste from households.

The project called “Social Inclusion and Alternative Livelihoods for the Informal Waste Sector” will be carried out by the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines, a non-profit organization composed of solid waste management practitioners from LGUs, national government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the academe.

“We are helping LGUs, communities, and the private sector improve their capability to manage solid waste problems in their respective areas through research, training, technical assistance, information exchange, and network building,” Grace P. Sapuay, SWAPP executive vice president said.

“This partnership with the World Bank and JSDF will greatly boost our programs while helping the less fortunate,” she added.

The project will provide support to the informal garbage workers and itinerant waste buyers located in five cities and municipalities which are modernizing their solid waste management systems. Support will also be provided to informal waste sector participants that are members of existing recycling cooperatives in Metro Manila.

“We are pleased to be a partner of this great initiative because it fits squarely with the mission of JSDF, which is to deliver direct benefits to the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. We do hope that this grant could make positive tangible effects in the lives of informal garbage workers in the selected project areas,” said Takahiro Etchu, financial attaché of the Japan Embassy in Manila, who witnessed the signing of the grant agreement between the World Bank and SWAPP.

As part of the modernization programs for waste disposal sites, part of the grant will be used for investment in equipment, bins and carts; formalization of the sector through registration, recognition and contractual arrangements; and improving working conditions, including the health and safety of informal workers.

Recycling cooperatives will get technical assistance for expanding their business operations and sources of income including litter cleanup and cleaning services, collection and transport, and curbside recycling. The project will also provide training for entrepreneurship and job placement.

Established in June 2000 by the Government of Japan and the World Bank, JSDF has been a leading source of grants for innovative social programs aimed at alleviating poverty around the World, with a special focus on the poorest and most vulnerable people in society. It was established in response to the impact of the East Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

source: interaksyon.com

Global food prices post sharp drop in May - FAO

PARIS - Global food prices fell sharply in May, dropping four percent from the previous month to their lowest level since September 2011, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization said Thursday.

The FAO's Food Price Index, a monthly measure of changes in a basket of food commodities, was nine points lower at 204 points, a statement said.

That was "due to generally favourable supplies, growing global economic uncertainties and a strengthening of the US dollar," it added.

"Crop prices have come down sharply from their peak level but they remain still high and vulnerable due to risks related to weather conditions in the critical growing months ahead," FAO grain analyst Abdolreza Abbassian was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the organization raised its forecast for global cereal production by 48.5 million tonnes, mainly on the expectation of a bumper maize crop in the United States.

The FAO now expects 2012 output to set a record of 2.419 billion tonnes, which would be 3.2 percent higher than the 2011 record.

"However, with planting still to be completed and much of the crop at very early stages of development, the final outcome will depend greatly on weather conditions in the coming months," the agency noted.

On May 30, the FAO warned that one in seven people worldwide suffer from malnutrition in a report released ahead of a summit on sustainable development to be held in Rio de Janeiro June 20-22.

An FAO report called on governments to invest in infrastructure and protect the rights of the poor to food resources.

Three quarters of the world's poor live in rural areas and most of them depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods, it said.

source: interaksyon.com