Almost 80% of Manila was flooded after Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines capital on September 26th. A few days later, Indonesia was rocked by back to back earthquakes on September 30th. Tzu Chi volunteers in the two countries responded almost immediately to the consecutive disasters providing relief and comfort. Before the typhoon, Marikina was one of the most clean and beautiful cities in the Philippines. Picture shows local residents joining Tzu Chi volunteers in cleaning the mud-covered streets.

439 households arrived at the chapter house of Tzu Chi Tatalon to collect relief supplies and consolation cash.

A member of the disaster assessment team stopped to cleanse a man’s wound on his leg.

Flood survivors helping with street cleaning in Marikina, Phillipines were elated to receive hot meals from the volunteers.

The second relief team getting ready to enter quake hit areas in Padang, Indonesia on Oct 2.

Volunteers presenting relief supplies to the survivors with utmost respect.

Philippines

In the aftermath of what was the worst flooding to ravage the Philippines in forty years, various humanitarian aid groups streamed into the Southeast Asian country trudging through mud-covered streets to provide relief to the shaken survivors.

In the city of Marikina, Tzu Chi volunteers have been providing hot meals, rain boots, heavy machineries, clean-up assistance, as well as temporary jobs for the survivors. The mayor of the city, Marides Fernando, expressed sincere gratitude to Tzu Chi Foundation's compassion and kindness when she met with the volunteers.

Many survivors who fled their homes were left with no shoes or rain boots to wear. Worrying that they would catch a cold or infection, Tzu Chi volunteers delivered over 2,100 pairs of rain boots to the local residents of Barangay Nangka in Marikina city. One of the affected residents expressed that she was so grateful to receive “protection” on her feet and hoped that the rashes on her feet would be gone soon.

Last weekend (10 & 11 Oct), 1,200 volunteers and residents took part in the large-scale cleanup event initiated by the Tzu Chi chapter. On 10 Oct, the second relief team from Taiwan (the first arrived on 29 Sept) comprising nine volunteers led by Director of Tzu Chi’s Department of Religious Affair Hsieh Chin-kui arrived to support the relief follow-up and case visits. The team was expected to help survivors rebuild their homes with their relief experience from Taiwan’s August 8 flood disaster.

Indonesia

On September 30, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck 45km west of Padang, Indonesia. Within 24 hours, another 6.6 magnitude tremor struck southeast of Padang, once again throwing the sixth largest island in the world into a state of panic.

A team of 14 volunteers, including medical workers, was among the first to arrive in Padang on military transport to help with quake relief. Subsequent relief teams then brought medical supplies, power generators, tents, and other items required by the disaster areas. Volunteers also conducted street fundraisers in several parts of Indonesia hoping to deliver love and money to the quake survivors.

The disaster areas in Indonesia were spread out and many remote areas could not receive immediate assistance. Tzu Chi volunteers spent four hours travelling to the remote village of Nakli to conduct aid distribution and free clinics as well as to comfort the villagers.

As of October 8th, Tzu Chi volunteers in Indonesia have conducted seven relief trips to the disaster areas.

Recently, natural disasters are occurring far more frequently, among them were the flood in the Philippines, the earthquake in Indonesia, the flood in India, the wildfires in the United States, and the typhoons in Taiwan. Master Cheng Yen expressed that we should all unite together and cherish and respect our land with the spirit of Great Love.

The Army hospital was overwhelmed by the number of quake victims. Volunteers visited the hospital on Oct 7 to distribute consolation cash and cheer them on.		A medical team was dispatched to a village in Padang Pariaman on Oct 7 to provide medical treatment.