Save the Children ready to respond as thousands of children flee after floods hit Filipino capital

Save the Children is ready to respond to the needs of thousands of displaced children and their families, after floods triggered by torrential rain from the Southwest Monsoon swept through Manila and the National Capital region.

Between 60 and 83 millimetres of rain was estimated to have fallen in overnight, with weather forecasters predicting intense rain to persist through the day. Schools, businesses and even the stock exchange were shut today.

“Children are always most vulnerable in these situations,” said Anna Lindenfors, country director for Save the Children in the Philippines. “We are especially worried about children who may have been separated from their parents during the flooding. Children are also less likely to be able to cope with torrents of floodwater. They would have been absolutely terrified, some would have panicked and as rains continue to fall it will place them in greater danger. Save the Children teams are already on the ground in the area assessing the needs and damage.”

The cities of Parañaque, Taguig, Makati, Manila, Marikina, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasay, Quezon, Valenzuela and Pasig are heavily flooded, while other provinces and cities such as Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna, Rizal, Las Pinas, Bataan, Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija are also experiencing intense rain and are severely flooded.

To date, about 179,000 families are affected by the rain and floods, with over 4,000 families now in evacuation centers. Numbers are expected to increase as the rain is estimated to subside by Thursday, August 9. Save the Children will continue to monitor the flooding situation closely, particularly in operational areas within Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite, and Bulacan.

Save the Children has worked in the Philippines for the past 30 years and quickly delivers humanitarian relief after the nation’s frequent typhoons and other disasters. A prime target of natural disasters, the Philippines experiences an average of 20 tropical storms a year and is located in a major earthquake zone housing a number of active volcanoes.

-ENDS-

Please contact Angel Saceda, +63 9178590759 or angel.saceda@savethechildren.org for media interviews or queries.

Notes to editors
Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children. We work in 120 countries. We save children’s lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfill their potential.

We work together, with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

We have over two million supporters worldwide and raised 1.6 billion dollars last year to reach more children than ever before. In 2011, Save the Children directly reached over 822,000 Filipino children with its programs in health, nutrition, education, protection and child rights, also in times of humanitarian crises.
More information is available here: www.savethechildren.net