Published on Nov 19, 2013
12:57 PM
Small boats are used to ferry school children and people through floodwaters in Quang Dien District, Thua Thien Hue province in central Vietnam on Monday, Nov 18, 2013. The death toll from flooding caused by heavy rains in central
Vietnam has risen to 41, with about 80,000 people forced from their homes, disaster officials said on Tuesday. -- PHOTO:
AP
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - The death toll from flooding caused by heavy rains in central Vietnam has risen to 41, with about 80,000 people forced from their homes, disaster officials said on Tuesday.
The National Floods and Storms Control Agency said in a statement that the floods had affected more than
400,000 houses, but added the flood waters have mostly receded, allowing many residents to return home.
The heavy rains began Nov 14.
The officials said the deaths occurred in six central provinces.
Binh Dinh was the worst-hit province with 18 people dead.
Another five people are missing.
The floods also injured 74 people and damaged 4,300 hectares of rice paddies and other crops, the agency said.
Vietnam is prone to floods and storms, with hundreds of people killed each year.

Published on Nov 19, 2013
3:32 PM
US Navy personnel arrange relief goods to be delivered to typhoon survivors on board the USS George washinton aircraft carrier, on Monday, Nov 18, 2013. Some 600,000 survivors of a deadly typhoon that tore through the Philippines are yet to receive World Food Programme assistance, the body said Tuesday, 11 days after the disaster struck. -- PHOTO: AFP
MANILA (AFP) - Some 600,000 survivors of a deadly typhoon that tore through the Philippines are yet to receive World Food Programme assistance, the body said Tuesday, 11 days after the disaster struck.
Ms Ertharin Cousin, the WFP's executive director, told journalists in Manila that the UN agency had so far delivered emergency supplies of rice and high-energy biscuits to 1.9 million people.
She said an initial assessment of areas ravaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan had estimated that 2.5 million survivors were in need of food.
"There are significant numbers of people still that we have yet to reach," Ms Cousin said. "What we work to do is to reach those who don't have other means of accessing food and that number will continue to reduce as we move forward."
She added that "geographical challenges", including choked roads and accessing remote islands, had made reaching everyone affected difficult, and noted that the 2.5 million figure was a "conservative" estimate.
"We are challenged but not overwhelmed and we will continue to perform the work necessary to meet the needs of the Philippine community," she said.
"The work goes on and we won't stop until everyone receives food assistance." Thousands of people died when Haiyan - packing some of the strongest winds ever recorded - smashed into the Philippines on
November 8, generating tsunami-like waves that flattened entire communities and left up to four million people displaced.

Published on Nov 19, 2013
5:20 PM
Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan use colorful umbrellas to shelter from rain and sun at a devastated area of Basey, north of
Tacloban, on Monday, Nov 19, 2013. The cost of rebuilding houses, schools, roads and bridges in typhoon-devastated central Philippines could reach 250 billion pesos (S$7.14 billion), making it likely that the government will seek cheap loans from development agencies, a senior official said on Tuesday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
MANILA (REUTERS) - The cost of rebuilding houses, schools, roads and bridges in typhoon-devastated central Philippines could reach 250 billion pesos (S$7.14 billion), making it likely that the government will seek cheap loans from development agencies, a senior official said on Tuesday.
If the government is successful in deploying resources for post-typhoon reconstruction, the economy may even grow faster, said Mr Arsenio Balisacan, economic planning secretary, adding that the country's strong economic fundamentals remained intact.
"I would not be surprised if it can go as high as 250 billion," Mr Balisacan told Reuters, commenting on the likely cost of reconstruction.

Published on Nov 19, 2013
8:27 PM
A prisoner is visited by a woman through the bars of the Tacloban City Prison in Tacloban, Philippines. It's 103 and counting - that's the number of prisoners on the loose after escaping Tacloban City Jail when a super typhoon devastated the central Philippines, flooded the prison and smashed open the main gate, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
TACLOBAN (REUTERS) - It's 103 and counting - that's the number of prisoners on the loose after escaping Tacloban City Jail when a super typhoon devastated the central Philippines, flooded the prison and smashed open the main gate.
The prisoners had been freed from their cells so that they could seek higher ground, but while some rode the water to the safety of the warden's second floor office, others followed the water out the front door.
"They swam through," the jail's warden, Mr Joseph Nunez, said as he pointed to the palm of his hand onto which he had jotted down his challenge: 676 inmates before the typhoon hit, 559 at present and 117 at large.
"We are still missing 117." That number had come down to 103 by late Tuesday as some inmates turned themselves in and a team of correction officers, armed with M-16 rifles and 9 mm handguns, hunted down a handful of others on the streets.
The prison houses inmates charged with offences from burglary and drug dealing to violent crimes such as rape and murder.
Mr Nunez acknowledged that some of the fugitives could be dangerous, adding to the sense of unease faced by Tacloban residents, although overall security has improved over the past few days as food and other aid has flowed in.
Mr Nunez said he had issued no shoot-to-kill orders and would not penalise prisoners who returned of their own accord. He said many inmates had fled to help their families survive the storm.
Mr Joey Gerona Taborada was one inmate who turned himself in on Tuesday, returning to Cell 8 which he shared with 20 other prisoners. The 35-year-old said he decided to go back after ensuring the safety of his

family and repairing his house. He said he never once thought of running, even though he had been held for eight years on a drug charge without conviction.
"It was very difficult to leave my family, especially my child," he said, referring to his eight-year old son.
"I don't want to be a fugitive for my whole life."

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Published on Nov 19, 2013
10:22 PM
JAKARTA (AFP) - A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, the
USGS reported.
There were no immediate reports of damage and local officials ruled out any threat of a tsunami.
The quake struck 110 kilometres north-northeast of the town of Tobelo in the Maluku chain of islands around 1330 GMT (9.30pm Singapore time) at a depth of 63 kilometres, it said.

Published on Nov 19, 2013
11:32 PM
Coconut trees felled by Typhoon Haiyan are pictured between the district of Capoocan and Kananga in Leyte province, central Philippines, Nov 18, 2013. The typhoon that hit the Philippines has resulted in crop losses worth US$110 million
(S$137 million) and an overall damage to the agriculture sector of more than twice that figure, preliminary estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) showed, on Tuesday, Nov 19, 2013. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
MILAN (REUTERS) - The typhoon that hit the Philippines has resulted in crop losses worth US$110 million (S$137 million) and an overall damage to the agriculture sector of more than twice that figure, preliminary estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) showed on Tuesday.
Some 153,495 ha of rice paddy, maize and other high value crops such as coconut, banana, cassava, mango and vegetables have been adversely affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which killed at least 3,900 people when it struck on Nov. 8.
The forecast for damaged areas included some 77,476 ha of rice crops and 20,951 ha of maize crops, the
FAO said in a statement.

Published on Nov 20, 2013
1:45 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - A prominent Republican senator says China's modest aid to the Philippines after the typhoon there shows its politics has influenced its response to the humanitarian disaster.
Senator Marco Rubio said on Tuesday China's US$1.6 million (S$2 million) offer dwarfs what it could provide, and reflects a foreign policy in which China wants to help only countries that do its bidding.
Sen Rubio, who is considered a possible US presidential contender, said China's territorial disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea explained its "limited" response.
He contrasted that with the US deployment of military assets and provision of US$37 million in aid.
Sen Rubio was speaking at a Senate hearing on the aid effort for victims of Typhoon Haiyan.
China has also said it's ready to send rescue and medical teams.