Philippines Declares Calamity as Fresh Storm Approaches

[Purveyor]

By Cecilia Yap, Joel Guinto and Clarissa Batino - Nov 11, 2013
Philippine President Benigno Aquino declared a state of calamity to speed aid to communities ravaged by super Typhoon Haiyan that may have killed as many as 10,000, while a new storm approached the nation.

The government has 18.7 billion pesos ($429 million) to fund reconstruction after Haiyan, the year’s most powerful cyclone, unleashed storm surges and gale-force winds that caused vast destruction, Aquino said yesterday in a televised address. Today, a fresh storm threatening the southern Philippines may pass through some areas battered by Haiyan.

The devastation may adversely effect the economy, the government said, sending the peso and stocks weaker yesterday. The storm affected almost 9.7 million people, authorities said, and 22 countries have pledged assistance. Soldiers were dispatched to prevent looting as survivors scoured for food.

“In the coming days, be assured: help will reach you faster and faster,” Aquino said. “The delivery of food, water and medicines to the most heavily affected areas is at the head of our priorities.”

At least 1,774 were killed by Haiyan, more than 90 percent of them from Leyte and Samar in the Visayas, Major Rey Balido, spokesman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told reporters yesterday, adding that the toll is likely to rise. Almost 2,500 have been wounded.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-11/philippines-declares-calamity-as-fresh-storm-approaches.html

[gopiscrap]

1. OMG those poor people