Matt Richard's Blog
13 December 2006
It's 4 AM . The alarm clock is ringing.. I force myself to roll out of bed, stumble out the door, then down to the lobby to meet up with the rest of the team. After two days of planning and coordination in Manila , we're off to Legazpi City , 500km to the south, for our first look at the devastation left by super-typhoon Durian. Two weeks earlier, the storm approached from the East, ripping a swath of destruction through the central Philippines . In its wake, many are dead, and hundreds of thousands are left homeless. Flying in, we get a good look at the damaged terrain, especially Mayon, the smoldering volcano that dominates this part of Albay province. Saturated by weeks of rain, and destabilized by the typhoon, Mayon dumped a massive volume of mud down its steep flanks. An avalanche of volcanic sludge and boulders devoured the towns at its base--entire communities buried alive. The coconut harvest, the core of the local economy is ruined.
We begin at Bical Regional Training and Teaching Hospital. Aside from the roof being ripped off, the hospital is intact. Operations, however, are restricted by lack of personnel, with over half the staff staying home, beginning to rebuild. The hospital director tells us that water and sanitation systems are in shambles. The first cases of tetanus are presenting, with two dead, and others sure to arrive as the incubation period peaks.
Our next stop is the Department of Health disaster coordination center. We receive a list of evacuation centers needing assistance. Mostly, these are schools that have been converted into makeshift living quarters, with thousands of people per site. Dozens of people are packed into each small room, sleeping shoulder to shoulder, sharing limited clean water and little or no means of sanitation. It's the ideal breeding ground for epidemic disease.
The people, especially the children, are starved for medical care, and really for any attention at all. At each site, we're surrounded by throngs of children and adults, eager for the most simple assistance. The first afternoon we see 40 patients, the next day 100.
Most suffer diarrhea, respiratory infection, and minor wounds. But are few are in desperate need of medical aid, afflicted with pneumonia, asthma, and severe dehydration.
We see a two year old girl gasping for air, her chest and neck muscles straining with each staccato breath. Fear is in the eyes of this child and her parents. After treatment with inhalers and steroids, she improves, then finally returns to normal, and gives us a hesitant smile. Next, there's a little girl with severe dehydration, pale, weak and floppy in her mother's arms. We begin rehydration, then arrange transport to hospital for prolonged IV fluids. The next day, we're greeted by her happy mother. The child is fully recovered-happy and energetic.
Dr Matt Richard