Praying in ruined churches, Filipinos face up to massive rebuilding
TACLOBAN, Philippines, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Survivors ofTyphoon Haiyan flocked to ruined churches on Sunday, kneeling inprayer under torn roofs as the Philippines faced an enormousrebuilding task from the storm that killed at least 3,681 peopleand displaced 4 million.
At Santo Niño Church, near the waterfront in the flattenedcity of Tacloban, birds flitted between the rafters overhead aswomen moved through the pews with collection plates. At the endof mass, the Roman Catholic congregation broke into applause.
Rosario Capidos, 55, sat crying in one row, hugging hernine-year-old grandson, Cyrich.
Capidos had been sheltering at home with nine other membersof her family when Haiyan struck on Nov. 8. As the waters rose,she floated her three grandchildren on a slab of styrofoamthrough a road flooded with debris and shipping containers to anearby Chinese temple. Her family survived.
"That's why I'm crying," she said. "I thank God I was givena second chance to live."
A massive relief effort is finally kicking into gear, ninedays after one of the most powerful typhoons on record wreakedhavoc across the impoverished area in the central Philippineswith monster winds and a deadly storm surge of sea water.
Philippine authorities and international aid agencies face amounting humanitarian crisis, with the number of peopledisplaced by the catastrophe estimated at 4 million, up from900,000 late last week.
Nearly half a million houses were damaged by the storm, halfof them destroyed, according to the United Nations.
While aid packages have begun to reach more remote areas,much of it carried by helicopters brought by the USS GeorgeWashington aircraft carrier, the United Nations said people werestill going hungry in some mountainous provinces.
It said information about several provinces in the west ofthe Visayas region remained "limited", with 60 percent of peoplein towns in the northeast part of Capiz province needing foodsupport.
"I remain concerned about the health and well-being of themillions of men, women and children who are still in desperateneed," U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said in a statement.
President Benigno Aquino, caught off guard by the scale ofthe disaster, is scheduled to visit affected areas on Sunday. Hehas been criticised for the slow pace of aid distribution andunclear estimates of casualties, especially in Tacloban, capitalof hardest-hit Leyte province.
There are 1,186 people missing, according to the nationalcount. The official death toll has only risen by 60 sinceFriday, giving hope that initial local estimates of 10,000 deadwere overstated.
The government estimated damage to infrastructure andagriculture at about 10 billion pesos ($230 million), the bulkof it in the farming sector. The United Nations warned thateconomic and human cost could rise if aid did not reach farmersin rice-growing regions in time for the next planting season inDecember and January.
It also said that fishing, another crucial food source, hadbeen placed in jeopardy by the storm.
"The destruction of boats, fishing gear, fish ponds andrelated equipment left many families with no means of livelihoodand decreased protein intake," the U.N. Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
(Writing by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by John Mair)
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