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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider More resources needed for 'Odette' relief, rehab, says UN PH coordinator

More resources needed for 'Odette' relief, rehab, says UN PH coordinator

Published Jan 22, 2022 09:18 am

The country coordinator of the United Nations (UN) in the Philippines called for urgent financial resources to help victims of Typhoon Odette, saying the destruction the typhoon caused in the country was "badly underestimated."

General Luna in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte on Dec. 22 after it was devastated by typhoon "Odette" (Albert Lozada/Greenpeace)

In a tweet, UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines Gustavo Gonzalez said it was time to step up support given to those affected by Typhoon Rai, locally Typhoon Odette.

"Time to put capacities, knowledge, and resources together and scale up support to people affected by #typhoonrai," he tweeted on Friday afternoon, January 21.

"Local economies have been literally flattened. Financial resources are urgently needed," he added.

A week after the typhoon-ravaged parts of Visayas and Mindanao in December last year, the UN launched a campaign to raise $107.2 million in aid for victims. However, Gonzalez said early this week that the target would be revised after at least 60 field assessments showed that the destruction was far worse than initially thought.

"One month since the first landfall of Super Typhoon Rai we realize that we have badly underestimated the scale of devastation," Gonzalez said in a virtual briefing.

More than 1.5 million houses were damaged or destroyed in the storm that left 406 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.

According to Gonzalez, persistent rain in the region was adding to the misery. This is supposedly in addition to the lack of power and communication in some areas and depleted government funds due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The country is also facing a surge in COVID-19 cases possibly fueled by the Omicron variant.

"We are talking about a crisis within a crisis," he said.

Related Tags

Gustavo Gonzalez united-nations assistance Typhoon Odette odette
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