No OFW casualties reported in UAE, Oman flooding –DMW

There were no overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reported killed or injured so far following the severe flooding that hit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman earlier this week, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Thursday.

Officials, however, are verifying if the two who reportedly died from electrocution during the flooding incident are Filipinos.

“Our consulate is checking with the Filipino community members. There are reports that two unfortunately died of electrocution and we’re verifying it. We hope not, we hope not. We’re verifying with the police,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told reporters in an ambush interview at the House of Representatives.

DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said they are also verifying if the two fatalities are Filipinos.

“I’m still waiting for the report but as of last night, ibang nationalities daw. That’s the report I got last night. And no Filipinos harmed or injured,” Cacdac in a separate interview.

In case it is verified that the two victims are Filipinos, De Vega said the DFA will help in the repatriation of the remains “if necessary, if requested.”

“Other Filipinos are fine, so far. But our consulate has advised the Filipino community — sa Dubai ang worst, ‘no? — to follow the local government rules to stay at home,” De Vega said.

In the UAE, the DMW said Philippine offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are preparing to distribute relief goods, basic necessities, and other essential items to OFW communities in Al Ain and Dubai. 

“MWO (Migrant Workers Office) Dubai and Abu Dhabi are working closely with the Philippine Embassy and Consulate General and coordinating with Filipino communities to assist our OFWs,” it said in its statement.

The public assistance and training areas of MWO-Dubai were flooded on Wednesday but they have already been cleaned, the DMW added. 

Cacdac also said there are 648,929 Filipinos in Dubai but none have requested to be repatriated because of the floods.

In Oman, the DMW said the seriously affected areas were villages with no OFWs. 

Torrential rain flooded roads, homes and malls and briefly halted operations at Dubai’s airport as storms lashed the Gulf on Tuesday.

The storm — the heaviest recorded in the UAE in 75 years — hit neighboring Oman on Sunday.

One person was reported dead in the UAE and 20 in Oman.

Climate experts say rising temperatures caused by human-led climate change are leading to more extreme weather events around the world, such as the storm that struck the UAE and Oman. —with Tina Panganiban-Perez and Reuters/KBK, GMA Integrated News