A desperate place to call home: Heartrending pictures show families forced to live in pipes in Manila's sprawling slums
- Photographs show families who have made homes inside the many concrete pipes that line the streets in Manila
- Youngsters and even babies can be seen sleeping among rubbish that has gathered around the concrete tunnels
- Roughly one quarter of the country live in poverty, which is defined as surviving on around one US dollar a day
Cramped, dirty and without even basic of facilities, these concrete pipes are the most unlikely of homes.
But for the desperately poor of the Philippines, they offer a tiny refuge. Families can be seen sleeping and sheltering inside the structures lining the streets of Manila as young children play on the filthy floor.
Some have tried to create privacy by draping fabric over the entrance. Makeshift beds are formed from wood jammed across the pipes while washing hangs from string.
Many of the Philippines' desperate citizens dwell in whatever makeshift shelters they can find in the slums in Manila, including concrete pipes
A small child watches a man look through various of pieces of plastic outside of a pipe concealed by a large piece of material
Roughly one quarter of the nation live in poverty, which is defined as surviving on about one US dollar a day
The Philippines has been one of the fastest growing economies in Asia for several years.
But despite increased government efforts to raise living standards, the country of more than 100 million still faces considerable challenges including its vulnerability to typhoons and other natural disasters, poverty, corruption and poor infrastructure.
Roughly one quarter of the nation live in poverty, which is defined as surviving on about one US dollar a day, according to government data.
The country's inexhaustible list of natural disasters is largely due to its location along the Ring of Fire, a basin in the Pacific Ocean where a large number of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
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The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year, many of them deadly, with the strongest often happening towards the end of the year.
One of the most recent was Typhoon Melor in December, which killed at least 11 people and cut power for millions.
And just two months before that, tens of thousands were left homeless after the powerful Typhoon Koppu slammed into the northeastern Philippines.
The violent typhoon carved a swathe through the islands, destroying houses, toppling trees and power lines and shattering roads and bridges.
Some 23,000 people were evacuated from the path of the raging typhoon, as ferries and flights ground to a halt.
Youngsters can be seen playing and sleeping among rubbish that has gathered in and around the concrete tunnels
Some of the pipes have been swept out and materials draped over the entrances in an attempt to create some privacy for its inhabitants
In November 2013 one of the strongest storms on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan, flattened entire communities in the central region with tsunami-like waves, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing.
Before that in 2012 more than 50 people died when Typhoon Saola struck and a further nine people were reported dead as torrential rain left almost 50 per cent of the capital underwater.
In 2009 the powerful Typhoon Ketsana devastated Manila the city resulting in hundreds of deaths.
The flooding, which was neck-deep in some areas, forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes for high ground.
Cramped conditions: A Filipino informal settler rests inside a small sewer pipe with a few of his possessions behind him
Families with babies and young children can be seen on makeshift beds constructed from old planks of wood
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3504211/A-desperate-place-call-home-Heartrending-pictures-families-forced-live-pipes-Manila-s-sprawling-slums.html#ixzz43eW004dk
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