INTERNATIONAL Federation of the Red Cross Deputy Secretary-General Ibrahim Osman has stressed the importance of preparedness of disaster- response teams in rescuing and giving relief to victims of natural disasters.

Osman said that in the rescue and relief efforts for the victims of twin typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) showed how preparedness becomes a factor in matters of life and death.

“They [PNRC officials, staff and volunteers] have done a great job in responding to the previous disasters, and that’s a very good example of how the [Red Cross] society has built its credibility, its accountability and its effectiveness in responding to disaster,” he said.

Osman said the leadership of Sen. Richard Gordon, PNRC chairman, has made the work of PNRC even more effective and responsive to the needs of the victims of the typhoons.

“From what I have seen, he is a man of drive, full of ideas, and he is a practical man at the same time. So he always presents a very good strategy and good vision for the future, and at, the same time, he is leading seriously in the implementation of the program of the PNRC,” Osman said.

The PNRC’s relief efforts in the wake of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng have reached at least 30,000 families displaced by floods.

PNRC is also building 6,500 homes for victims of the typhoons, and is helping 10,000 families more in repairing their damaged homes. The two typhoons claimed hundreds of victims in Luzon, displaced thousands of families from their homes, and destroyed billions of pesos in property and agricultural lands.

Noli pushes relocation of families in danger zones

VICE President Noli de Castro, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chairman, on Wednesday told the local governments of Taguig City and Rizal province to waste no time in processing the relocation of families living in danger zones to prevent the further loss of lives during typhoons.

De Castro advised Rizal Gov. Jun Jun Ynares, Taytay Mayor Joric Gacula and Taguig Vice Mayor George Elias to immediately identify the  families at risk and make the special preparations for them since their  relocation is considered by the government as highly important.

“Let us make the preparations right away. They have to be immediately relocated before another typhoon hits the country and wash out the shanties of the families,” he said.

De Castro met Ynares, Gacula and Elias during his inspection on Wednesday of the Napindan Channel, a major waterway on the border of Taguig City and Taytay, Rizal, which got clogged during  the height of Typhoon Santi. Vast settlements along Lupang Arenda, a fully built-up landfill along the channel, were washed out as the water level rose owing to the clogging.

The incident pushed around 70 families to volunteer for relocation offered by the government, but more than a thousand others residing in the area are firmly holding on to their dangerous homes. (With S. Fabunan)