Red Cross: Need help? Put white cloth outside

MANILA -- The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) called Tuesday on residents looking to be evacuated from their flooded homes to place white cloths outside the place they are staying to make rescuers aware of their desires.

In an advisory, PRC chairman Richard Gordon said it would be best to help rescuers find them by following this instruction and immediately calling their hotline 143 and 527-0000.

"You can put a white blanket outside your house so that rescuers can easily locate where you are," said Gordon.

He stressed that Red Cross 143 volunteers in all chapters have already been mobilized to monitor weather disturbances and coordinate with national headquarters for any incident.

Gordon assured that the Red Cross is monitoring the situation round the clock and is ready to provide all necessary humanitarian assistance needed by the affected families.

On the other hand, the Department of Health (DOH) is calling on the public to maintain vigilance versus the threat of leptospirosis brought by the massive flooding in many parts of Luzon and Metro Manila.

Leptospirosis is caused by a bacterium called Leptospira, which can be caused by contact with water, food, or soil containing urine from infected animals – usually rats.

"People in flooded areas are advised to visit hospitals at the first sign of fever for treatment of leptospirosis," said Tayag.

Also, he advised those, who will continue to be exposed in possibly contaminated flood waters, should take doxycycline 200mg once weekly.

Subsequently, the health official said hospitals should prepare for the influx of patients and anticipate the needs for dialysis.

"When possible, medical teams will conduct mass prophylaxis," said Tayag.

Over the past few days, Metro Manila and nearby provinces has been pounded by torrential rains, which caused the massive flooding in different areas. (HDT/Sunnex)