Environmentalist blames mining and logging for extreme flooding that killed 51 people
Residents of Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao in the Philippines wait for military trucks to give them a ride to evacuation sites. (Photo: Philippine Information Agency)
The Catholic Church’s social service agency has appealed for donations after deadly flooding left more than 50 dead and displaced about 50,000 people in the Visayas and Mindanao regions of the Philippines.
Caritas Philippines has called on Catholics and the private sector to provide water and food to victims of flooding in Misamis Oriental province, where hundreds of elderly people and infants were evacuated due to torrential rain from Dec. 25 to 31.
“Caritas calls for donations to provide relief and rehabilitation assistance to our brothers and sisters in Misamis Occidental who were affected by the flooding. The voluntary support for this fundraising campaign will go a long way in helping communities and families recover from the devastation caused by the flooding,” Father Jason Frias, external affairs committee chairman of the local Caritas office, told UCA News.
The priest said the agency has assessed the immediate needs of the evacuees.
“Their immediate needs are ready-to-eat foods like noodles and canned goods, drinking water, hygiene kits like soap, and medicine kits as some of them already have fever due to the rain,” the clergyman added.
The death toll from flash floods and landslides caused by Christmas Day rains in the southern Philippines rose to 51, with 36 others still unaccounted for, the national disaster agency said on Jan. 1.
The disaster agency also revealed a total of 13, 814 families displaced due to flash floods met the New Year in evacuation sites such as basketball courts and school classrooms.
“We are appealing to the generosity of many who may not have a lot but those who are living comfortably. If we can give a few bottles of water, let us give to those who are suffering from the flood. They have no homes right now,” Caritas Secretary Donald Hizon told UCA News.
Hizon said their efforts are divided into two parts – evacuation and rehabilitation.
“We are still in the first phase as many of our poor brothers and sisters are still suffering from the effects of the floods. When everything settles down, the rehabilitation program is next. We will give them something to rebuild what was left by the floods,” Hizon added.
The Agriculture Department said on Dec. 31 that the estimated damage from the flooding is about 245 million pesos (US$4.9 million) while the infrastructure damage is estimated at 1.13 billion pesos (US$26 million).
Several dioceses in the Luzon region have made second collections during Masses for the victims of the flash floods.
“We decided to have a second collection beginning Christmas Day. We will give what we have gathered to Caritas or to the Philippine Red Cross for the victims. It’s Christmas time, let us give something to the needy,” Christian Linawa, a Catholic from Legaspi, told UCA News.
An environmentalist blamed mining and illegal logging for the flash floods in the Visayas and Mindanao region.
“Many of the fatalities were in towns in the north-eastern section of the mineral-rich island of Misamis Oriental, which bore the brunt of the flooding and where forest cover has diminished over the past decade due to excessive logging and mining,” Filipino environmentalist Bagua told UCA News.
Badua said there were no more rocks and trees to hold the water that led to the disaster.
“The trees supposedly meant to hold rainwater including loose boulders or rocks and soil from mountainsides are no longer there, so who’s going to hold them?” Badua regretted.
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