Mizuno says typhoon aid may not be reaching outlying areas
Children queue up for food at a damaged daycare center where children are undergoing therapy in Basey township, Eastern Samar province in central Philippines Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Despite millions of dollars that have poured into the Philippines from around the world to help with Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts, state Rep. John Mizuno fears that sufficient aid isn’t making it to the smaller, outlying towns that were affected.
Mizuno held a news conference Friday at the State Capitol to address his concerns and speak with his family members in the Philippines live on Skype. The Mizuno family didn’t hear from relatives living in Barugo, a town about 30 miles away from Tacloban City, for 10 days after the storm struck. When they did make contact, the family members were alive but starving.
The family received three meager rations of rice and sardine cans from a single Filipino nonprofit organization three days, six days, and 12 days after the storm before they fled Barugo by boat for the southern province of Negros Oriental to be with family members that weren’t affected by the storm, Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley) said.
