US Amb Kenney: 'Ondoy' feels very much like 'Katrina'

The "heartbreaking" sight of Filipinos devastated by tropical storm "Ondoy" was not all that different from the situation left by Hurricane Katrina which wreaked havoc upon the United States four years ago, US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney said Tuesday. While Kenney said it was difficult to say which of the two weather disturbances was worse on a technical scale, the American official said seeing Filipinos in need of food and rescuing brought the same sentiments brought about by Katrina in August 2005. "It's so hard to say 'cause how do you decide [if] one natural disaster is worse or not than another?" Kenney said when asked in an interview over GMA News' "Unang Hirit" how "Ondoy" compared to Katrina. "Our focus honestly right now has been on getting relief to people and we'll let the government authorities over the next several days and weeks assess the total extent and how it compared to Katrina." "But I'll tell you, the same scenes...it's really heartbreaking. People stranded, people needing help, people hungry, people needing medical care, people needing to be saved," Kenney said. "So in that sense, it feels very much like Katrina" Soldiers David Alegria, Johnny Poter, and Nick Sazon of the US Army who aided in rescue operations for "Ondoy" victims shared how they rescued a pregnant woman from the second floor of a building Sunday night. "We lowered her down to a balcony from the second storey into a boat and drove about a mile and a half, two miles back to shore," Alegria said. "And then we took her to a hospital and we actually found out, the most rewarding part was she actually delivered to a baby boy that night, or at that morning at one point three hours later." US relief aid Poter said the community guided them to the woman and to the hospital, while Sazon said it was "an honor" to help out those in need. They said they were able to rescue over 50 people. The US government has given the Philippines $100,000 for immediate relief operations for "Ondoy" victims. After the relief operations, the US will look into how it can help the Philippines be more prepared against natural disasters, Kenney said. Tropical storm "Ondoy," which fell on the country Saturday, left hundreds of people dead in its wake and thousands more homeless. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) placed the death toll at 140 as of 4 p.m. Monday, pending reports from local government units. A total of 90,223 families were affected or 453,033 people in 398 barangays. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the rainfall brought by "Ondoy" to Metro Manila and nearby areas in a span of six hours on Saturday was the most in recorded history, surpassing the previous record for the metropolis in 1967. - GMANews.TV