More floods hit southern Philippines only a week after a tropical storm dumped a gigantic amount of rain in Mindanao, the second-largest island in the country.
More than 1,200 people were killed in the flash floods that were caused by tropical storm Washi 10 days ago. Around 400,000 people have been left homeless and another 700,000 have been affected by the floods in some way, the United Nations estimates.
“We had to undertake pre-emptive evacuation. There were very heavy rains brought about by a low pressure area, adding to our problems in Mindanao,” Benito Ramos, the head of the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told the United Nations news service, IRIN, on Wednesday.
Approximately 1,500 people were evacuated from Barobo and Bislig, San Francisco, and Valencia—all of which are located on the southern island of Mindanao.
U.N. relief workers say that the new floods have placed a strain on relief efforts. David Carden, a local U.N. humanitarian worker, said, “We’re already overstretched, but we will respond to any humanitarian need provided resources and funds are available.”
