Save the ChildrenThe full impact of Typhoon Ketsana is only now beginning to emerge, says Save the Children, as its aid workers traveled deep into the previously inaccessible mountain areas of central Vietnam. Covering the final few miles on foot as landslides and mudslides had made roads impassable, Save the Children workers found villages totally devastated by flash floods. WESTPORT, Conn. (Oct. 3, 2009)- Nick Finney, Save the Children's emergency response manager said: "We know that the harder it is for us to reach people the worse their situation will be and the greater their needs. We're still trying to put the pieces together at this stage but as we make our way into those hard-to-reach areas we are being met with scenes of devastation and great need. If villages are still cut off then based on what we've seen they will be badly damaged and have no access to even the most basic supplies. Our challenge is to reach them as soon as possible — it's a race against time."
In one village of 57 families in Da Krong district, Save the Children found that half of homes had been swept away and the rest had been badly damaged as the storm ripped off roofs and tore down trees. Families who had lost everything were sheltering with neighbors, 10 or 20 people in a small house, and were sharing what little food and clothing they had left.
Families are fearful that their food supplies will soon run out as they only have enough to last for a few days and many hectares of crops have been destroyed. The next harvest will not be until March 2010. Children are being sent to catch fish in the streams as it is the only food they can get at the moment.
Save the Children's Nguyen Van Gia, who led the team into the mountainous region of Quang Tri said: "Families are just glad to be alive. The floods came in the middle of the night so they fled from their homes to higher ground and when they returned there was nothing left. They have escaped with their lives but now they face a struggle to survive."
The mountain regions received the brunt of the damage from Typhoon Ketsana as the storm swept inland before dumping vast quantities of rain on hilltop villages. Flash floods swept villages away and families there now have no clean water and food for only a couple more days.
Children's education is suffering. Many schools across the region had their roofs blown off. Some will not be able to re-open without extensive repairs. In those which do manage to start classes, children are likely to be crowded together as classrooms and roofs are fixed.
Save the Children has begun distributing essential household items such as blankets, mosquito nets and kitchen goods. The teams will be carrying out further assessments in four provinces: Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam. Save the Children is the leading independent organization that creates lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 29 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 120 countries. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. |
