Landslides and Floods in the Phillippines

Due to an October typhoon, the Phillippines are experiencing many disasterous floods and landslides.  These new disasters are made worse by the fact that they are still recovering from the huge typhoon that killed 30 people and left 20,000 homeless. So the situation is enhanced by the vulnerability of the population.  The landslide that happened last week in Isabela province took 6 lives. However, the government has been working hard to prevent some of these deaths with emergency evacuations.  They moved 200 families out of their homes in Kalinga because a near-by hillside had caved in, creating a dam that could lead to more flooding if it fails.

The Phillipines is a country that is more prone to landslides than most due to a mountainous terrain, seismic activity and a heavy rainy season. Also the people of the country have become more vulnerable due to quick urbanization that creates many squatter settlements on the outskirts of major cities.

I can image that getting aid and assistance to distant communities is difficult due to all the flooding and mass wastage problems. As of right now I cannot find anything on the Phillippines  getting assistance from other nations, like Costa Rica is getting right now. Also, as of what I can see, the Phillippines is not using air transport to deliver aid.

Photo of typhoon Megi that hit last month; note how large it is and that it covered all of the Phillippines

Photo of the severity of typhoon Megi

Article on the landslides and floods in the Phillipines:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40052795/ns/world_news/

Article on why the Phillippines are more vulnerable to mass wastage events:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90967

Articles on Typhoon Megi:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/typhoon-megi-leaves-phili_n_770302.html#s161846
*favorite pages for the pictures*

http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/super-typhoon-megi-hits-the-phillippines-0647/