Philippines - The town of Tanuan (pop. 50,000) is 15 kilometres south of Tacloban, which has been the focus of the world’s media since the devastating typhoon of November 8.

If anything, Tanuan is in a worse state than Tacloban. It is 100 per cent damaged, meaning every home has been ruined or made only barely habitable.

Five wooden crosses on the side of the road prepare you in some way for the utter destruction which continues for two kilometres. At least 800 people perished here, many buried in mass graves, and 2,000 more are missing.

The residents are shell-shocked, queuing for donated rice at the city hall, which also serves as a medical point for everything from draining infected wounds to delivering babies.

IOM visited Tanuan on Friday, as part of an inter-agency mission to areas not previously assessed by international organizations.

Mark Cockburn is an Australian doctor, working in Tanuan with ReliefNet. He confirmed that on Friday nine babies had been born on the second floor of the Mayor’s office, whilst 120 people were treated for injuries sustained in the storm in a room nearby. In the last week, over 50 new babies have made their way into this nightmarish scenario.

Dr. Cockburn and his team are working in incredibly arduous conditions, even performing operations under a tarpaulin bulging with rainwater, patching the storm-damaged roof.

“We need a lot of medicines in here, specifically antibiotics for trauma injuries, as well as for diarrhea and respiratory tract infections,” he said.

Moving down the coast to the towns of Tolosa, Dulag, Mayorga and MacArthur, the inter-agency team met local government officials representing over some 150,000 people, and everywhere the story was the same.

Shelter was the most often-reported need, together with medicine. Some areas have sufficient food for the time being, while others have received donations of bottled water which serve their needs for the moment.

IOM is currently co-leading UN cluster meetings in Tacloban, helping the Government of the Philippines set up temporary shelter for thousands of people. It is also the lead Organization (with the Government) for Camp Coordination and Camp Management.

One of the poorest places visited by the team was the town of Tolosa, 42 kilometres down the coast for Tacloban, which was the last place hit by the storm surge which stretched for over 100 kilometres.

Councillor Roland Mate, like most of the other 17,530 residents of the town lost his home and his livelihood in seconds. Now he is trying to organize help for his town, which includes remote mountain suburbs, currently reachable only by foot or motorbike.

“Everything is lacking,” he says. “We Filipinos are good at improvisation – people are making their own shelters, even sleeping under cars, but it rains every night and people get wet. We are worried that people will start getting diarrhea if they don’t get temporary shelters and sufficient food and water.”

In Dulag, an emotional Mayor Manuel Siaque confirms that people are building their own shelters and receiving donated rice in an orderly way. “But we need food, shelter, water and jobs,” he says, before finally allowing the tears to fall: “Why us,” he asks. “Why us?”

For more information please contact

Joe Lowry
Tacloban
Intl Cell: +63 927 6298700 (Globe)
Satellite Inmarsat number: +870-776-390056
Philippines Cell +63 933 5654841
Philippines Cell +66 81 8708081
Email: Jlowry@iom.int  or joelowry@gmail.com