CHURCH JOINS RELIEF EFFORTS TO FLOOD VICTIMS

CARITAS Philippines announced efforts to provide relief to flood victims, particularly in the southern Philippine province of Misamis Occidental.

The Catholic charity said its relief efforts are underway in partnership with the Archdiocese of Ozamis’ social action center.

“Caritas Philippines is now providing assistance to communities affected by the flooding in Misamis Occidental due to heavy rains in the area,”it said in a social media post.

Immediately responding to the needs of the victims, the archdiocese’s parishes provided shelter for those whose houses have been washed out or damaged by the flood.

Archbishop Martin Jumoad of Ozamis earlier asked for prayers and help for the people affected by the calamity.

The archbishop offered prayers for the flood victims during his Christmas Day Mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Birhen sa Cotta and appealed for relief for those affected.

“Let us continue to pray that more help will come to them,” Jumoad said as the archdiocese’s Social Action Center started their relief operations.

“Let us also offer prayers that weather conditions improve,” he said.

Caritas Manila, meanwhile, called for donations to provide emergency assistance to flood victims in Misamis Occidental.

The social action arm of the Manila archdiocese said the immediate needs are ready to eat foods, drinking water, hygiene kits and medicines.

“Your voluntary support for this fundraising campaign will go a long way in helping communities and families recover from the devastation caused by the flooding,” said Caritas Manila.

According to the national Caritas, several parishes have also welcomed evacuees from high risk areas and given them food packages, potable water, hygiene kits, and clothing, among others.

Heavy rains and floods that devastated parts of the Philippines over the Christmas weekend have left at least 32 dead and 24 missing, the national disaster response agency said on Thursday, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

More than 56,000 people were still in emergency shelters after bad weather disrupted Christmas celebrations in the eastern, central and southern Philippines.

Images from the southern province of Misamis Occidental showed rescuers carrying an elderly woman on a plastic chair as they waded through a flooded street.

Some residents in the province were seen hanging on to floaters as coast guard rescuers pulled them across chest-deep floods using a rope.

Eighteen of the 32 deaths were reported in the Northern Mindanao region, while 22 of the 24 missing were from Eastern Visayas in the central Philippines and the eastern Bicol region, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

Deaths were also logged in the Bicol region, Eastern Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Most of the deaths were from drowning, while among the missing were fishermen whose boats capsized, the agency said.

Over 4,000 houses were damaged by the floods along with roads and bridges, and some areas were without power or water, the agency reported.

A shear line—the point where warm and cold air meet—triggered rains in parts of the country, the state weather bureau said. It forecast light to heavy rains in the next 24 hours for some of the same areas affected by the floods, AP said.

The NDRRMC said nearly 400,000 people were affected, with over 81,000 still in evacuation centers.

The Misamis Occidental province, as well as the city of Gingoog in Misamis Oriental, have been placed under state of calamity due to shear line-induced rains that caused continuous flooding.