Human trafficking a worry in post-typhoon
Philippines: US
Published on Dec 04, 2013
6:53 AM
Typhoon survivors queue up for relief supplies being distributed along a highway on Thursday, Nov 28, 2013, in Tacloban
city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Thousands of women and children in the Philippines risk falling prey to human
traffickers in the aftermath of last month's catastrophic typhoon, lawmakers and the chief United States (US) aid agency
warned Tuesday. -- FILE PHOTO: AP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thousands of women and children in the Philippines risk falling prey to human
traffickers in the aftermath of last month's catastrophic typhoon, lawmakers and the chief United States
(US) aid agency warned Tuesday.
A US congressman returning from a visit to the storm-ravaged island nation said that while Filipino
authorities and US forces were helping vast numbers of storm victims, more attention was needed to thwart
criminal opportunists taking advantage of the chaos after Super-typhoon Haiyan roared ashore.
"The most vulnerable - women, children, the elderly, and those with special needs - always fare worst
during disasters," Republican congressman Chris Smith, who led the three-member delegation to the
disaster zone last week, told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee.
At particular risk of sex trafficking are vulnerable people "who over a longer period of time may have lost
some hope," said Mr Smith.
Such persons in the Philippines, many among the thousands transported out of the disaster zone to cities
like the capital Manila, could fall victim to offers of work in Saudi Arabia or Korea, Mr Smith said, only to
find themselves with "an engraved invitation to a hell on Earth."
Washington considers the Philippines as not in full compliance with minimum standards for eliminating
trafficking.
The State Department's 2013 trafficking report describes it as a source country for sex-trafficking and
forced labor, and that "child sex tourism remained a serious problem" there.
The US Agency for International Development, which for years has worked with the government of the
Philippines to reduce human trafficking, also sounded the alarm at the hearing.
"We are watching this very closely," Ms Nancy Lindborg, the USAID's assistant administrator for
Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, testified.
"To protect the children of the central Philippines during this time of heightened vulnerability, the
government of the Philippines and the international community will need to make every effort... to ensure
and strengthen local and national protective services."
That includes creation of safe spaces for women and children, and programs that help identify, trace and
reunify unaccompanied children, she said.
Washington has committed nearly US$60 million (S$75.3 million) worth of typhoon-related aid to the
Philippines, Mr Lindborg said.
More than 7,400 people died or remain missing in the aftermath of Haiyan, one of the most powerful
typhoons on record.
One teenager dead, 19,000 evacuated in
Malaysia floods
Published on Dec 04, 2013
2:02 PM
The vehicles parked at the Kuantan new bus terminal in Kuantan-by pass , Indera Mahkota, are submerged with water
because of a heavy downpour. Floods in Malaysia caused by heavy rains have left a teenager dead and forced authorities to
evacuate thousands of people, officials said on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: THE STAR PUBLICATION
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Floods in Malaysia caused by heavy rains have left a teenager dead and forced
authorities to evacuate thousands of people, officials said on Wednesday.
Some 19,000 people have been relocated to evacuation centres set up in schools in the east coast states of
Pahang and Terengganu and Johor in the south, an official and news reports said.
A 17-year-old boy who was fishing with his father in Terengganu drowned after being swept away in a
swollen river, a state police official said.
A Meteorological Department official said river levels continued to rise due to the high tide and water
being released from dams, but the body expected rain to ease in the flood-hit areas.
"It's still raining today, but we expect the rain to stop by tomorrow," he told AFP. "Then the situation will
improve."
The department issued an "orange" alert for Pahang and Terengganu on Monday, warning residents to be
prepared for a possible evacuation.
Floods caused by annual monsoon rains that begin around November are common in the Southeast Asian
country.
Malaysia floods: No let-up in Pahang,
blackout in Kuantan as flood waters rise
Published on Dec 04, 2013
3:04 PM
A lady who slipped into a monsoon drain is saved by the fireman who passed by in Jalan Bukit Ubi, Kuantan, on Dec 3,
2013. The rain in Pahang has not let up, worsening the flood situation in five districts. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS
NETWORK
KUANTAN (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The rain in Pahang has not let up, worsening the
flood situation in five districts.
According to the state disaster operations room, the number of evacuees in Pekan, Maran, Rompin,
Kuantan and Jerantut now numbered 11,721 as at 8am.
Kuantan was hit the worst with 4,148 victims, followed by Rompin (3,615), Pekan (2,716), Maran (1,179)
and Jerantut (63).
Along with the major floods and non-stop rain, Kuantan folks were also now toughing out the disaster
without electricity.
A post from an administrator on Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) Facebook page stated that the blackout was
due to rising water level at all its substations.
It also said the situation was quite serious and the water level had not subsided yet but the supply would be
restored once the flood water receded.
"If the water reaches a dangerous level, TNB will shut down the electric supply to substations, assemblies
and wires in the affected area temporarily to ensure the safety of the public," TNB said.
Seven roads in the district had been closed to all vehicles, according to the state police.
Meanwhile, a Pengurusan Air Pahang Bhd (PAIP) spokesman rubbished rumours that water was going to
be released from the so-called "Kobat Dam" and would severely affect the areas of Bukit Setongkol,
Permatang Badak and Sungai Isap.
There is no dam at Sungai Kobat, the company said, but only a raw water pump house and a barrage gate
that stopped salt water from entering the pump house's headworks.