Thursday 6 December, 2012

Schools could be closed for months as clean up begins following killer typhoon in the

Schools could be closed for months, disrupting the education of tens of thousands of children whose lives have been affected by a killer typhoon in the Philippines, warns Save the Children.

The leading child rights agency says up to 140,000 children have been caught up in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha, many of them school-aged children.

Anna Lindenfors from Save the Children in the Philippines said, “The extent of the damage means that children will not be able to return home or to school anytime soon. This can be very unsettling for them as they will now have to stay in cramped conditions in evacuation centres without any private bathing areas, sleeping areas or safe play spaces.”

Emergency response teams from the children’s charity have been to the worst affected areas of only to find flattened villages covered in mud. The death toll is now reported to be 325 and 379 missing. The Authorities say it will take at least two months to restore power in the affected provinces.

Save the Children says that children in the worst affected areas including Compostela Valley, and will require long-term assistance.

In response to the crisis Save the Children is mobilising pre-made aid packages that include crockery, mosquito nets, toiletries and blankets. Distributions will start tomorrow to at least 500 of the worst- affected families.

“These are families living in areas that were unaffected by last year’s Typhoon Washi and have never been through anything like this. We are hearing reports that few families heeded warnings from the authorities to evacuate, resulting in a higher than expected death toll.”

“Children will require much more aid to recover from this disaster,” said Anna Lindenfors. “We need to set up safe spaces for children to play and talk about their experiences. Students will also need a place to learn and school materials to study with when the semester starts. These are essential to create a sense of normality for the children whose lives have been turn upside down by the typhoon.”

Save the Children has been working in the Philippines since 1981 and has decades of experience responding to emergencies in the Philippines. The aid agency mounted large-scale emergency responses to Typhoon Washi in 2011 and in 2009.

Prone to natural hazards such as landslides and , the Philippines experience an average of 20 tropical storms a year and is located in a major earthquake zone where there are also active volcanoes.

ENDS

For media interviews, please contact Anna Lindenfors at +63 9178527907 or [email protected].

For all other media queries, please contact Angel Saceda at +63 9178590759 or [email protected] or Lynette Lim at +65 91864946 or [email protected].