More than 1 million victims of deadly storms in the Philippines may be suffering from mental stress and need psychological help, the WHO said yesterday.
Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for Western Pacific, said that while it was normal for flood and landslide victims to experience anguish, those feelings needed to be addressed.
“Many of these people will be anxious and distressed after the experience they have gone through,” he said.
PHOTO: EPA
“That is a perfectly normal reaction, but the danger is they might become frustrated and angry if their physical and mental needs are not taken care of as the days go by,” he said.
Shin said among the signs of deteriorating mental state include sleeplessness, antisocial behavior and suicidal tendencies.
“This is about the time when we might be seeing worrying reactions such as these,” he said. “Government officials and relief workers should be on the lookout for signs.”
Nearly 1,000 people were killed by back-to-back storms Ketsana and Parma that triggered massive flooding and landslides in the Philippines in late September and early last month.
More than 8 million people have been affected by the storms.
The WHO said more than 1 million people were still living in floodwaters, with little prospect of the flood receding before the end of the year.
“Tens of thousands of people are at risk from leptospirosis, a bacterial disease caused by contact with water contaminated with urine from rats and other mammals,” a WHO statement said.
“Other health threats include cholera, dengue fever, malaria, diarrhoea, skin rashes and respiratory illnesses,” it said.
The organization also warned of psychological stress on relief workers, many of whom have been working seven days a week since the storms struck.
“Confronting danger and human misery for days on end, often without proper rest, exacts a heavy emotional toll on these people,” Shin said.
Shin said emergency workers can sometimes be so overwhelmed by the scale of disaster and by the suffering they witness their performance becomes significantly impaired.
He said if relief workers showed signs of burnout, they should be allowed to withdraw.
“A dysfunctional helper is no help to anyone,” Shin said.
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