Flooding in Philippines Forces Evacuation of Thousands
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 A boy stands in front of piles of books, papers and furniture from his flooded elementary school.
 Thousands of disaster relief packets were distributed to families affected by the floods.
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CALAPAN, Philippines - Several days of continuous rains in the Philippines spawned massive flooding and landslides in three provinces south of the capital city of Manila earlier this month.
In the Oriental Mindoro province, the rains forced a breach in the dike surrounding the Bucayao River, flooding the 62 villages and forcing thousands to evacuate to relief sites in Calapan.
Days after the flooding, Operation Blessing began mobilizing relief efforts to assist the evacuees. Their immediate goal was to reach out to 16 affected sites where over 6,000 people were in need of aid.
"We are distributing relief packs to over 2,200 families containing blankets, oral hygiene packs, towels and soap - items that are badly needed," said Kim Pascual, chief operation officer for Operation Blessing in the Philippines.
On December 12, relief teams arrived to the cities of Camilmil and Calapan in the Oriental Mindoro province and provided medical services for over 300 evacuees. The next day, they set up a clinic at Lalud Elementary School and treated wounds and other medical needs for over 500 flood victims.
To date, OBI has distributed over 2,500 disaster relief packs, provided medical treatment to nearly 2,500 residents, and begun reconstruction of homes – with three already completed.
Apart from the ongoing relief efforts in the Philippines, Operation Blessing responded to a number of other flood-related disasters this year. After weeks of torrential rains in September and October, the residents living in the villages of Dakar, Senegal were forced to leave their flooded homes and retreat to both government and unofficial campsites. OBI sent food and aid, supplying over 65% of the total disaster relief coming from faith-based organizations.
Disaster relief and recovery efforts also continue on a national level as OBI continues to work to restore homes and businesses destroyed by the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast states. A major part of the recovery efforts now includes removing furniture and debris from houses and treating mold.
How You Can Help
Take part in Operation Blessing's ongoing disaster response efforts by making an online donation to help those affected by natural disasters.
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