MANILA - Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo on Wednesday thanked the United Nations for calling on the international community to extend emergency assistance to the Philippines.

"We welcome and support the Flash Appeal issued by the United Nations to help our fellow Filipinos who have been victims of typhoon Ondoy (international codename Ketsana). The Philippine Government is grateful for the help being extended to us by the United Nations in these trying times. We particularly extend our gratitude to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for his and the UN's assistance and quick response," he said in a statement.

Romulo met with the UN Secretary General, Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, and other UN officials last September 28 to relay President Arroyo's appeal for international humanitarian assistance following the devastation caused by Ondoy.

During their meeting, the UN Secretary General stated that the UN would consider issuing a flash appeal to both member states and international NGOs.

The Flash Appeal, which will be formally launched by the world body in Geneva, New York, and Manila (October 7), calls for urgent help in key sectors such as food/nutrition, shelter, water/sanitation, education, child protection, health, agriculture, livelihoods, logistics, communications, camp coordination/camp management, as well as early recovery.

The United Nations said a request has been made to the Central Emergency Response Fund to address the most urgent needs, while the international humanitarian community including NGOs, the International Organization for Migration and United Nations agencies, are seeking US$74,021,809 to address the immediate needs of approximately one million typhoon victims.

Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the UN's humanitarian coordination office (OCHA), on Tuesday said the $74 million appeal came after a meeting with representatives of donor nations in Geneva. She said some 4,000 homes were destroyed by the combined blow from Typhoon Parma over the weekend and by tropical storm Ketsana (known in the Philippines as “Ondoy”) on September 26.

At least 16 hospitals, as well as rural and community health centers, were damaged, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that cases of diarrhea and skin ailments had been recorded, raising fears about epidemics.

WHO spokesman Paul Garwood said the risk was heightened by the damage to water and sanitation systems, especially within areas where health facilities were out of action.

"There are fears of outbreaks of communicable diseases, as yet there have been no reported major outbreaks," he added.

The storms and flooding, which left at least 300 people dead, have also destroyed about $117 million in crops including rice, according to government estimates quoted by OCHA.

About one third of the overall appeal covers food and other relief from the WFP.

"WFP is continuing to expand food assistance to help one million people over the next three months," said spokeswoman Emilia Casella.

Romulo said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through its Missions in Geneva and New York and other foreign service posts, is actively supporting efforts to facilitate the appeal process and other international humanitarian assistance measures.

The appeal was developed in partnership with the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and is planned to last for six months. It also provides the framework for a common inter-agency understanding of needs and priorities based on the best information currently available and will be updated after one month when it will present a more complete picture of current humanitarian needs, including in terms of early recovery. With Agence France-Presse