GORDON: MYANMAR YOUTH VOLUNTEERS ESCAPE CYCLONE NARGIS, ATTEND PNRC SUPERCAMP

Two Myanmarese Red Cross Youth Volunteers escaped the devastating cyclone that swept through Myanmar by flying to a Philippine National Red Cross Youth Supercamp in Tanay, Rizal.

According to Philippine National Red Cross Chairman Senator Richard J. Gordon, Myanmarese Red Cross Volunteers Wit Ye Chit Su Khin, 17, and Thet Wai Aung 22, were already scheduled to join the Supercamp weeks before tropical cyclone Nargis lashed Myanmar 's Irrawaddy Delta Region.

The typhoon had already started bringing rains in Myanmar when the two youth volunteers took their flight to the Philippines . Thet Wai Ang is the daughter of a Myanmar Red Cross official while Wit Ye Chit Su Khin is the daughter of a soldier.

"Thet Wai Ang's father is a Red Cross official. He allowed her to come to the Supercamp here in Tanay, Rizal knowing that a powerful cyclone was about to hit their country.

"The father reasoned that, even though Thet Wai Ang was an only child, and they would be separated during a devastating typhoon, she would be safer here in the Philippines away from the cyclone," said Gordon.

Gordon also said that the PNRC has already sent three of its volunteer-experts in community health and nursing to Myanmar , as part of an International Red Cross team.

Gordon has no doubt in his mind that the series of powerful, deadly typhoons that have struck Asia since the 1990s are the very real effects of climate change.

"Ocean temperatures are rising because of global warming. The rising ocean temperatures affect our weather patterns--what we call 'climate change--resulting in powerful, devastating storms and floods. What scientists have been predicting long before about climate change is happening now," he said.

With reports coming in that the destruction in Myanmar due to typhoon and flooding could affect up to 1.5 million people, and that the death toll may rise to up to 100,000 fatalities, does Gordon think such a catastrophe could also happen to the Philippines.

"It's happening now. Typhoon Reming in 2006 was one of those super typhoons caused by climate change. That typhoon left tens of thousands of families homeless in Bicol.

"We were fortunate that not that many people died--but then tens of thousands of families were left homeless. The PNRC helped these families by spearheading a housing project. The PNRC was able to build more than 13,000 typhoon-resistant homes for these families.

"The housing project was completed in just a little over eight months, with the help of the residents of affected communities, using the Filipino spirit of bayanihan and volunteerism," said Gordon.

Gordon said that the Philippines if fortunate because there are already emergency systems in place, allowing quick alerts to be given to communities before a typhoon strikes.

"The PNRC is always prepared to help alert and evacuate families away from areas expected to be hit by a super typhoon. This helps greatly in reducing the potential death toll," he added.

Still, Gordon said the PNRC is not taking it easy in the face of climate change. He announced that the PNRC is sponsoring a Climate Change Forum on May 17th. The forum will bring together experts from government agencies like the PAGASA, DENR, PHIVOLCS, NDCC, etc., as well as experts from the private sector.

The forum aims to help exchange knowledge and information about climate change and eventually formulate a close coordinated response to potential disasters arising from extreme, destructive weather events.

As for the Myanmarese Red Cross volunteers, Gordon said they are very worried about the effects of the typhoon on their country, but they will be staying to complete the Supercamp.

The Supercamp trains Red Cross youth volunteers in special skills that they may use during emergencies like natural disasters. Some of the skills being taught to the volunteers include survival and first aid training; rapelling, roping and rescue skills, and even cooking during survival situations.

Red Cross youth volunteers will also hold a forum to discuss problems like climate change, wildlife conservation, solid waste management and the impact of bio-fuels on the environment.

"The Myanmarese volunteers are much better now that they already know their families are all right. They have been able to contact their parents. They will complete the Supercamp and fly back home," said Gordon.

The Red Cross Supercamp lasts from May 8 to May 12 and is being held in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal.