Philippines declared under state of calamity Tuesday, 20 December 2011 07:56

By BenCyrus G. Ellorin

SUBIC Bay Freeport: President Benigno Simeon Aquino III declared a national state of calamity during his visit in Cagayan de Oro City, the hardest hit area of tropical storm Washi that has claimed at least 957 lives with hundreds still missing Tuesday.

Aquino made an early flight to Cagayan de Oro, an important port and commercial hub in southern Philippines about 500 miles from the capital Manila.

The national declaration would allow the spending of the country’s calamity fund and mobilize other government resources for relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Aquino announced that the government still has P1.17-billion pesos from the national calamity fund. He also announced the release of P150-million to buy and install automatic water level sensors in 18 rivers basins in the country that includes Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities.

Another P150-million was released to rehabilitate roads and bridges damaged by the floods.

Aquino then took a chopper from Cagayan de Oro City to nearby Iligan City, the second hardest hit city in the south. From Iligan he will visit another storm devastated city in the Visayas in central Philippines, Dumaguete.

Potable water remains the main problem in Cagayan de Oro, which has a population of about 500,000. 80 percent of its water system has been damaged by floods making it hard for people to have potable water, water for cleaning their flooded houses and even in cleaning and embalming the dead. (Peninsula Online)