Philippine
typhoon havoc 'getting worse'
Aid
agencies say the situation after typhoon Bopha hit the Philippines is
getting worse. The death toll has climbed to 540 people and more than
800 people are still missing, including hundreds of fisherman. Al
Jazeera's Caroline Malone explains
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More
than 300 fishermen missing after Bopha
The
number of people missing after a typhoon devastated parts of the
southern Philippines jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing
companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea
SMH,
10
December, 2012
.
The
fishermen from General Santos city and nearby Sarangani province left
a few days before Typhoon Bopha hit the main southern island of
Mindanao on Tuesday, triggering flash floods that killed more than
600, Civil Defence chief Benito Ramos said.
Mr
Ramos said the fishermen were headed to the Spratly Islands in the
South China Sea and to the Pacific Ocean. He said there has been no
contact from them for a week.
"We
have declared them missing," he said. "Maybe they are still
alive."
Mr
Ramos said they might have sought shelter on the many small islands
in the Spratlys and the Celebes Sea. They might have been unable to
make contact if they had lost battery power.
He
said the coast guard, navy and fishing vessels had launched a search.
After
slamming into the southern Philippines, the typhoon moved out to sea
but then veered back towards the country's northwest on Saturday,
prompting worries of more devastation. As of late Sunday, however, it
had begun to dissipate and weaken into a low pressure area as it
moved further into the South China Sea, about 105 kilometres west of
the Philippines' Ilocos Norte province.
Rescuers
continued searching for bodies or signs of life under tonnes of
fallen trees and boulders in the worst-hit town of New Bataan, where
rocks, mud and other rubble destroyed landmarks, making it doubly
difficult to search places where houses once stood.
Hundreds
of refugees, rescuers and aid workers took a break on Sunday to watch
the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on a big TV screen, only
to be dismayed by their hero's sixth-round knockout.
An
elementary school teacher, Constancio Olivar, said people fell silent
when Pacquiao, who comes from the southern Philippines where the
storm hit, fell heavily to the canvas and remained motionless for
some time.
"It
was like a double blow for me – this disaster and this defeat,"
said Mr Olivar, whose house was destroyed in the storm. "We were
all crestfallen. Everyone fell silent, stunned. It was like we saw a
tsunami."
Nearly
400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao
Oriental province, have lost their homes and are crowded inside
evacuation centres or staying with relatives.
The
President, Benigno Aquino, declared a state of national calamity on
Friday, which allows for price controls on basic commodities in
typhoon-affected areas and the quick release of emergency funds.
Officials
said on Sunday that 316 people were killed in Compostela Valley,
including 165 in New Bataan, and 301 in Davao Oriental. More than 45
people were killed elsewhere. Nearly 900 are missing, including the
fishermen and 440 from New Bataan alone.
Davao
Oriental authorities imposed a curfew there and ordered police to
guard stores and shops to prevent looting.
The
typhoon destroyed about 18 per cent of the banana plantations in
Mindanao, causing losses estimated at 12 billion pesos ($300
million), according to Stephen Antig, executive director of the
Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association.
The
Philippines is the world's third-largest banana producer and
exporter, supplying international brands such as Dole, Chiquita and
Del Monte.
Six
dead as heavy snow hits Balkans
Freezing
temperatures and heavy snowfall have killed at least six people and
caused travel chaos across the Balkans.
10
December, 2012
Officials
said four people have died in Croatia and two in Serbia as a result
of blizzards in the region of southwestern Europe over the weekend,
closing airports and roads and blocking public transportation in big
cities.
People
travelling in vehicles waited for hours on several roads in Serbia's
northern province of Vojvodina, including the main highway leading
from Belgrade to the Hungarian border, before rescue teams could free
them from 50cm of snow that had fallen in just a few hours.
A
woman gave birth to a healthy baby in a stranded truck on her way to
a hospital, and named her Snezana, or Snow White in Serbian, state TV
reported.
Ivica
Dacic, who serves as Serbia's prime minister and interior minister,
ordered all available police personnel to take part in the rescue
operations.
The
airport in Zagreb, Croatia, was closed for several hours on Saturday,
and some of that nation's roads were closed because of high winds and
heavy snow.
The situation improved in Croatia on Sunday, but a warning against driving remained in place because of icy roads.
The situation improved in Croatia on Sunday, but a warning against driving remained in place because of icy roads.
Authorities
in Serbia and Croatia warned people to stay indoors.
Blizzards
have also hit Slovenia and Bosnia.
As
the storms headed east across the Balkans on Sunday, Romania's army
was trying to clear snowbound roads as the country voted in a
parliamentary election.
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