International Red Cross steps in after Leyte landslide

GENEVA -- The international Red Cross on Friday appealed for two million Swiss francs ( 1.28 million euros, 1.52 million dollars) to fund an aid operation after a landslide buried an entire village in the Philippines.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which earlier announced it had released 200,000 Swiss francs from its emergency coffers, urged donors to come forward fast because it urgently needed to provide temporary shelters, mosquito nets, medical supplies and other aid for the survivors.

The landslide, which struck Friday morning, ravaged the village of Guinsaugon in the south of the Philippine island of Leyte.

The Philippine Red Cross said about 200 people were killed and 1,500 people were missing.

Philippine Red Cross head Richard Gordon, who was in Geneva for a meeting when the disaster struck, said that the aid organization feared that the death toll would rise even higher.

The landslide had wiped out 375 homes, plus a school, he said.

"We're hoping for the best but preparing for the worst," Gordon told reporters.
Some 50 aid workers were already on site. A further 20, including two dog rescue teams, were due to arrive on Saturday, he added.

Gordon, who was in regular telephone contact with aid workers back home, said the relief operation was running up against major logistical problems.

"This is one of the most remote and inaccessible regions of the country. The mud is waist-deep in some areas and this is making it very difficult to search for survivors and get help to the injured," he said.

A relief plane was on its way from the Philippine capital Manila carrying 1,000 body bags, emergency trauma kits to help 1,000 people, rubber boots, ropes, clothing, flashlights, and medicine, the international federation said.

The affected area was already disaster-prone, and is often hit by monsoons, floods and heavy rains -- which means local aid workers are experienced in running emergency operations -- it added.

In 2004 a series of typhoons killed 1,750 people and injured a further 750, while a landslide in Southern Leyte killed up to 200 people in 2003.

The United Nations also said it was sending a disaster team to evaluate the needs and coordinate the aid effort, and was releasing 50,000 dollars in emergency funding as well as sending supplies.