Phillippine flash floods: 1000 dead
Swollen rivers & landslides sweep thousands out to sea in the middle of the night as they sleep.
Swollen rivers & landslides sweep thousands out to sea in the middle of the night as they sleep.
Photo above of police carrying a body from a destroyed house after floods ravaged a village near Cagayan de Oro city. (Photo: AFP)
Click on map of Mindanao island below to get a larger map with the devastated areas of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan on the north coast of the island.
Also see Youtube clip that surveys the damage here.
Click button to listen to Floods in the Philippines to download
Philippine flood toll exceeds 1,000 by Teodoro Aljibe (AFP)
Some 957 people have been killed and 49 others are missing after tropical storm Washi lashed the southern island of Mindanao and surrounding areas over the weekend, said civil defence chief Benito Ramos.
Washi brought heavy rains that swelled rivers, unleashing flash floods and landslides that struck in the dead of night and swept away shantytowns built near river mouths.
The toll rose sharply as the bodies of people who were swept out to sea were recovered.
"They were underwater for the first three days but now, in their state of decomposition, they are bloated and floating to the surface," Ramos told AFP.
A British national was among those killed by the storm, Britain's Foreign Office said.
President Benigno Aquino flew to Mindanao on Tuesday to survey the devastation by air, coordinate the relief effort, and express his condolences to the victims' relatives, aides said.
Aquino said the impoverished nation of 94 million people was now in a "state of calamity", his spokesman Ricky Carandang told reporters.
The southern port cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were the worst affected with 579 and 279 fatalities respectively, but other areas were also hit and needed immediate aid from the national government, Carandang said.
Authorities in both cities are are preparing mass burials of unidentified bodies to address health concerns as well as the overpowering stench from huge numbers of dead that have overwhelmed mortuaries.
With dead bodies lying everywhere, there was controversy over Cagayan de Oro authorities' decision to bring at least 20 unclaimed cadavers to a nearby landfill for temporary storage.
Pictures of the bodies, kept under a tent just a few metres (yards) away from the dump where scavengers picked through piles of garbage for items to salvage, caused outrage as they circulated on social networking sites.
Looking for your mother, father, wife, husband, daughter, son, brother, sister who have been missing since Saturday’s flash floods? Go to the city’s dumpsite," Mindanews, a Mindanao-based news outfit, said on its website.
Christian Caballes, the chief medical-legal officer of Cagayan de Oro, said a government team was collecting fingerprints and D# samples from the victims' bodies which are to be interred in mass graves elsewhere.
"This is just temporary," Caballes told AFP.
The disaster area, located about 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the capital Manila, is normally bypassed by typhoons that ravage other parts of the far-flung Philippine archipelago every year.
That’s where they dumped your loved ones for you to identify and claim.
As a result, many residents were caught by surprise when floods suddenly hit their homes as they slept.
More than 284,000 people have been displaced by the storm with over 42,000 huddled in crowded, makeshift government evacuation centres, the the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
Authorities likened the impact of tropical storm Washi to Ketsana, one of the country's most devastating storms which dumped huge amounts of rain on Manila and other parts of the country in 2009, killing 464 people.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Philippine flood toll exceeds 1,000, 2011-12-20, Teodoro Aljibe)
Flood Natural Disaster Vocabulary
tropical storm Washi - the storm that hit the north coast of Mindanao discussed in the article (See Wikipedia)
tropical storm - a large storm (See Wikipedia)
tropical - relating to the hottest area of the Earth, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn ในเขตร้อน
surrounding - all around a place บริเวณรอบๆ
tropical storm Washi lashed the southern island of Mindanao and surrounding areas over the weekend, said civil defence chief Benito Ramos.
Mindanao - teh second largest island in the Philippines (after Luzon) in the southern Philippines with many Muslim people living on the island (See Wikipedia)
Cagayan de Oro - the biggest city on the northern coast of Mindanao (See Wikipedia)
Iligan - a city on the north coast of Mindanao that is home to heavy industry such as a large steel mill (See Wikipedia)
fatalities - people who died
port - an area of water where ships stop, including the buildings around it ท่าเรือ
the southern port cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were the worst affected with 579 and 279 fatalities respectively
toll - the number of deaths and injuries caused by a disaster, accident, disease, etc.
Philippine flood toll exceeds 1,000
ravage - destroy
flash floods ravaged the southern Philippines
mass burials - burying many dead people at the same time (in the same grave)
mass - large numbers, many จำนวนมหาศาล
burial - putting dead bodies under the ground (different from cremation in Thailand; the custom in some religions & societies)
swollen (adjective)
swollen rivers - when a river increases in size, grows bigger
swell (verb)
swell rivers
flash flood - a sudden flood of low-lying areas (See Wikipedia)
unleash flash floods - water released suddenly, flowing into low-lying areas
landslides - when the wet dirt on a hill or mountain falls down after heavy rain (See Wikipedia)
the dead of night - very late at night
struck in the dead of night - happened suddenly very late at night
heavy rains that swelled rivers, unleashing flash floods and landslides that struck in the dead of night
swept away - when something is suddenly moved away (as if "sweeping" with a broom)
shanty - a small house (that poor people built from whatever materials they could find)
shantytown - a small town of poor people in small cheap houses
river mouth - the place where the river empties into the sea
swept away shantytowns built near river mouths
swept out to sea - moved away into the ocean suddenly
recover - get back something that was lost or disappeared (could not be found)
the toll rose sharply as the bodies of people who were swept out to sea were recovered
decomposition - when a dead body starts to fall apart and rot
state of decomposition
state - condition สภาพ
bloated and floating to the surface
bloated - filled with air
surface - on top of the water
floating to the surface - rising to the top of the water
British national - a person from the UK
national - a citizen of a particular country ประชาชน
survey the devastation by air - look at the damage from an airplane (to see how bad the damage is)
survey - look over
devastation - damage; large amounts of damage
coordinate the relief effort
coordinate - organizing activities so that people can work together efficiently and successfully (See glossary)
relief effort - organized activities to help large numbers of people (suffering during a natural disaster, for example)
relief - help for improving a bad physical condition or a bad situation การผ่อนคลาย, การบรรเทา การช่วยให้พ้นภัย money, food, medicine etc. that is given to help people in places where there has been a natural disaster, war, etc. เครื่องบรรเทาสาธารณภัย
effort - working hard to do something; the energy and enthusiasm that people put into an activity ความพยายาม
relatives - family (grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc)
the victim's relatives - the family of the people who were killed or hurt by some bad event
express condolences - to tell someone that you feel sorry too (about the bad thing that has happened to them)
express his condolences to the victims' relatives
impoverished - very poor ยากจน
calamity - a bad event or serious accident causing damage or suffering เหตุการณ์ที่เลวร้าย
the impoverished nation of 94 million people was now in a "state of calamity"
aid - help or assistance given to someone ความช่วยเหลือ เงินช่วยเหลือ
immediate aid - help right now (without delay)
needed immediate aid from the national government
unidentified - not knowing who someone is
mass burials of unidentified bodies
address - to deal with a problem จัดการปัญหา
concerns - worries ความกังวล
to address health concerns - to deal with health worries
stench - bad smell
overpowering stench - the bad smell is so bad (you cannot stand it or endure it)
mortuary - a place where dead bodies are kept (before they are buried or burned (cremated))
overwhelmed mortuaries - the mortuaries are full of dead bodies and can't handle more
preparing mass burials of unidentified bodies to address health concerns as well as the overpowering stench from huge numbers of dead that have overwhelmed mortuaries
cadaver - dead body
claim - come and get something that belongs to you (example: come and claim your lost hat at the lost and found office)
unclaimed - something that no
unclaimed cadaver - a dead body that family or friends have not come to get
temporary - done or used for only a limited period of time, i.e., not permanent ชั่วคราว
storage - the putting and keeping of things in a special place for use in the future การเก็บ
temporary storage - keeping things at a place for a short period of time
controversy - a strong disagreement, especially about a public policy or moral issue ความขัดแย้ง ประเด็นข้อขัดแย้ง
with dead bodies lying everywhere, there was controversy over Cagayan de Oro authorities' decision to bring at least 20 unclaimed cadavers to a nearby landfill for temporary storage
garbage dump - a place to put garbage
dump (noun) - same as "garbage dump"
dumpsite - same as "garbage dump"
landfill - same as "garbage dump"
the dump where scavengers picked through piles of garbage for items to salvage
dump (verb) - throw away (as if it is garbage)
loved one - a person you love such as family or close friend
that’s where they dumped your loved one
identify - to specify who someone is ระบุชื่อ
claim - see above
that’s where they dumped your loved ones for you to identify and claim
circulated - going around
social networking sites - websites like Facebook where people chat and make friends with each other
outrage - to cause to become extremely angry ทำให้โกรธแค้น
the pictures caused outrage as they circulated on social networking sites.
outfit - a business or organization
news outfit - a news organization
Mindanao-based news outfit - a news organization located in Mindanao
Mindanews, a Mindanao-based news outfit
fingerprint - the pattern on people's fingers used to identify people
DNA sample - also used to identify people
interred in mass graves - dead people buried under the ground with many other people
a government team was collecting fingerprints and DNA samples from the victims' bodies which are to be interred in mass graves elsewhere
disaster - something very bad that happens and causes a lot of damage or kills a lot of people ความหายนะ ภัยพิบัติ
capital - the city that is the center of government for a country
the capital Manila - Manila is the "capital" of the country Philippines
typhoon - a big storm
bypass - not go through a place
bypassed by typhoons - big storms do not hit and damage the place
archipelago - a group of small islands or an area of sea in which there are many small islands ทะเลบริเวณที่มีหมู่เกาะ
the Philippine archipelago - the islands in the Philippines (a country of 7000+ islands)
the disaster area, located about 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the capital Manila, is normally bypassed by typhoons that ravage other parts of the far-flung Philippine archipelago every year
residents - people who live in a particular place or area ชาวบ้านในบริเวณ ผู้อาศัยในบริเวณ ผู้อยู่อาศัย ผู้อาศัย ราษฎรในบริเวณนั้น
caught by surprise - it surprised them, they were not expecting it
many residents were caught by surprise when floods suddenly hit their homes as they slept
displaced - (of people) forced to leave their home, especially because of war or a natural disaster ซึ่งออกจากที่อยู่ไป, ซึ่งย้ายที่
huddled - gathered close together กอดกันกลม
makeshift - temporary and made of low quality materials ที่ใช้ชั่วคราว (See glossary) using whatever is available and therefore not very good สำหรับใช้ชั่วคราว, ใช้ประทังไปก่อน
evacuation - moving people from a place of danger to a safer place การอพยพ
more than 284,000 people have been displaced by the storm with over 42,000 huddled in crowded, makeshift government evacuation centres
likened - similar to เปรียบเสมือน
impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
devastating - very harmful and damaging
authorities likened the impact of tropical storm Washi to Ketsana, one of the country's most devastating storms which dumped huge amounts of rain on Manila and other parts of the country in 2009, killing 464 people
