MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — UN children’s agency, UNICEF, is pre-positioning people and supplies to prepare for typhoon Pepeng/Parma, forecasted to hit the already battered islands of the Philippines this weekend.
The agency has staff on standby in North Luzon, and emergency family kits ready to be distributed to those displaced by the massive storm. By current forecasts, Manila is also set to receive heavy rains, further endangering those families whose homes were underwater only a week ago from flooding caused by tropical storm Ondoy/Ketsana.
“With large areas of stagnant water, overcrowded evacuation centers and the possibility of contaminated water, the conditions are in place for disease outbreaks particularly among children,” said Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF Representative in the Philippines.
UNICEF is also concerned that children are safe and protected at this time. The number of families affected by storm Ondoy (international codename Ketsana) which dumped a month’s worth of rain within 12 hours, has reached 629,000 or over 3 million individuals. Over one million of those are children.
UNICEF is coordinating all operations with NDCC, to ensure that supplies reach those most in need. The children’s agency is preparing: family kits containing cooking pots, blankets, water buckets, sleeping mats and soap; hygiene kits containing soap, toothpaste, slippers and towels; emergency health kits with essential drugs and water purification supplies.
