Red Cross tent cities to rise in Leyte, Cebu

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will build tent cities in Leyte and Cebu provinces to provide temporary shelter for thousands of people rendered homeless by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

In a statement issued yesterday, the PRC said it would use two payloader ships to transport homeless typhoon survivors from Tacloban City to Hilongos town in Southern Leyte where a tent city would be built for them on a 4-hectare campsite.

“We will get a ship and evacuate anyone who wants to evacuate,” PRC Chair Richard Gordon said.

In Cebu, the PRC will build a tent city in a 2-hectare campsite in Mandaue City in cooperation with the local government to provide temporary shelter for typhoon victims.

Survivors’ dignity

“These people need to have dignity,” Gordon said. “[They should] be able to take charge of their lives, and be given a chance to rebuild their communities.”

Gordon first announced plans for the tent cities on Thursday, saying Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama was helping the Red Cross provide temporary shelter for the typhoon victims.

He said the PRC planned to pay survivors P250 a day to bury their dead and clean up their debris-littered communities.

“The Red Cross is also giving out shelter kits and conditional cash grants to help the most vulnerable in areas hit by Supertyphoon Yolanda,” Gordon said.

The so-called sweat equity will also be employed in building the tent cities, Gordon said.

The tent cities will have water, sanitation, emergency response and livelihood training services for the survivors.

Appeal for volunteers

Gordon appealed for volunteers to help in the rehabilitation and recovery efforts in Leyte, Cebu and other areas in Eastern and Western Visayas ravaged by Yolanda, the 24th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year and the strongest on record for the whole world.

Yolanda (international name: “Haiyan”) slammed into the Samar-Leyte area on Nov. 8 and swept across central Philippines, killing thousands of people and flattening entire towns.

The storm toppled power and communication lines in the region, leaving the government and an increasing number of other countries struggling to reach and bring aid to the survivors.