ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
June 2, 2014
Philippine refugee tent fire kills mother, five kids
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — An
overnight fire razed a tent used as a
temporary shelter by survivors of Typhoon
Haiyan (also known as Typhoon Yolanda),
killing a woman and five of her children,
including a four-month-old girl, according
to officials in a central Philippine city
devastated by the massive storm.
The tragedy highlights the slow
progress in the resettlement of tens of
thousands of survivors of the disaster,
which struck more than six months ago
and is one of the world’s strongest
typhoons to make landfall.
The fire was caused by a kerosene lamp
and quickly consumed the canvass tent
just after midnight, Tacloban city disaster
management officer Derrick Anido said.
The shelter was one of 40 in a “tent city” in
San Jose district, which was wiped out by
tsunami-like storm surges and fierce
winds from Typhoon Haiyan in Novem-
ber.
The five children who died in the fire
ranged in age from four months to 12 years
old, Anido said. The woman’s seven-year-
old son, the lone survivor, was fighting for
his life in a government hospital.
“It happened around 12:20 ... but it was
TERRIBLE TRAGEDY. A tent city for typhoon
survivors is seen in Tacloban city, central Philippines,
in this November 23, 2013 file photo. An overnight
fire razed a tent used as a temporary shelter by the
survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Typhoon
Yolanda), killing a woman and five of her children,
according to officials. The tragedy highlights the slow
progress in the resettlement of tens of thousands of
survivors of the disaster, which struck more than six
months ago and is one of the world’s strongest ty-
phoons to make landfall. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
so fast that by 12:30 it was over,” Anido
said, adding that everyone was sleeping
when the fire broke out. “Unfortunately,
after surviving (the typhoon), they were
killed in a fire.”
Tacloban is still trying to recover from
the devastation wrought by the typhoon,
which barrelled through the central
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Philippines, killing at least 6,300 people
and displacing more than 4 million.
“The problem is that so many people are
still living in tents and we have been
saying all along that these tents are fire
hazards,” Anido said. “And we have been
requesting (the national government) to
relocate them to safer shelters.”
He said only 1,000 temporary houses
made of wood with galvanized iron roofing
had been built so far, while 14,000 families
in the city still live in vulnerable coastal
villages and need to be relocated.
Anido also said the site where the tents
donated by the United Nations are
located is prone to flooding. “It is almost
June and it will soon be rainy season in
Tacloban, and this will again be a
problem,” he said.
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