At Least 50,000 Children Affected By Floods In The Philippines - NGO

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Save the Children, a non-governmental international organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries, said at least 50,000 children have been caught up in floods in the Philippines. The children's charity is particularly concerned that children may have been separated from their families during the floods, leaving them especially vulnerable. Save the Children's country director in the Philippines, Anna Lindenfors, said it feared many children were split up from their parents as the disaster unfolded. "Our priority is to reach them as soon as possible. We're especially worried about children trapped in areas that we can't access due to the damage caused by the storm," she said in a statement Tuesday. The independent organisation for children said it was launching an emergency response to help victims of the flooding. "Our experts are on the ground to distribute drinking water and essential items to families affected by the disaster," it said. A tropical storm hit the south of the country over the weekend, causing devastating floods that left more than 900 people dead and many more missing, reports said. -- BERNAMA