World Disasters Report 2010 - International Federation of Red Cross ...

all those in the evacuation centre), supporting
them in developing savings schemes, organizing
exchange visits to see other communitybased
housing schemes and organizing the
construction of 103 temporary housing units
within four months of the disaster. The HPF’s
immediate response to the Mount Mayor mudflow
and floods was the dispatch of a team
to establish links with all the affected communities
and to help them set up community
organizations. It also supported surveys, organized
exchanges and promoted savings.
These efforts focused on three municipalities
where there were several communities on particularly
dangerous sites, supportive local governments
and communities interested in the
HPF and an absence of sustained relief from
aid agencies. Surveys were organized that
The disasters Year Details
Trash slides at the Payatas solid waste dump
in Quezon City (metro Manila)
included families in high-risk areas that had
not been affected by the mudslide and families
living in homes at risk of eviction along
the railway tracks. The organized communities
were able to select and acquire resettlement
sites. The importance of this experience
“is the pervading belief and commitment of
affected families and communities to act and
save to recover and to prepare for and evade
future disasters. The communities showed this
through their volunteering efforts and adoption
of the savings programme, collectively
saving close to P500,000 [US$ 11,000] in
less than a year. Their willingness to provide
counterparts in terms of volunteer work and
savings prompted the federation to support
their land acquisition initiatives,” said Jocelyn
Cantoria, HPF’s regional coordinator. �
2000 Heavy rains from typhoons caused a 15-metre (50ft) slope in the
dump to collapse, burying hundreds of homes; 288 people were
killed and several hundred families displaced. Subsequent flash
floods affected the homes and livelihoods of many more people.
Landslide in Barangay Guinsaugon 2006 The whole barangay (district) was buried and another 80 barangays
affected. A total of 154 deaths were recorded, 968 people reported
missing, 3,742 displaced and 18,862 affected.
Mount Mayor mudflow and floods 2006 Typhoons triggered huge floods, mudslides and avalanches. In
the Bicol region alone, at least 208 people died and another
261 were reported missing. These settlements were recovering
from a previous typhoon.
Fire in the settlement of the lower Tipolo
Homeowners Association in Mandaue
2007 246 structures were destroyed leaving 913 people homeless.
Flash flood in Iloilo 2008 In the city of Iloilo, 152 of its 180 barangays were affected by
heavy rain and flooding. Up to 500 people were killed, 261,335
affected. Many houses were washed away and many households
lost their documentation.
The work of the Philippines HPF in responding to disasters identified some constraints
on community-driven responses that are common in most urban areas. These include:
�� The difficulties faced by the affected population to produce documents required
by the government because these were either lost or destroyed by the disaster
�� The common response of those affected to wait for others, especially government
agencies, to do things and not to take the lead themselves
World Disasters Report 2010 – Focus on urban risk
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