MANILA - THE Philippines needs an additional US$74 million (S$104) in aid to deal with the aftermath of a recent storm that caused the worst flooding in the country's capital in more than four decades, killing nearly 300 people, officials said on Tuesday.
The government has received more than US$13 million in funds and aid from at least 12 countries but needed more assistance to help rebuild thousands of destroyed houses and feed hundreds of thousands of people who fled their homes as Tropical Storm Ketsana lashed Manila and nearby provinces on Sept 26, officials said. The homes of four million people were inundated.
Eight days after Ketsana struck, Typhoon Parma blew across the country's mountainous north, bringing more rain to the still-sodden region.
Parma killed an additional 16 people in floods and landslides. It has weakened into a tropical storm but has lingered off the Philippine coast, drenching northern provinces and neighboring Taiwan.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who heads the government's National Disaster Coordinating Council, will appeal Wednesday for more than US$74 million in foreign assistance through the United Nations, according to disaster council administrator Glenn Rabonza.
The additional aid will allow the government 'to meet the urgent relief and early recovery needs of the most vulnerable persons' devastated by the storm and flooding, Mr Rabonza said. -- AP
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