When Typhoon Bopha (known locally as Pablo) hit the southern Philippines in late 2012, many communities were caught off guard. Post-disaster assessments carried out by OCHA found that a lack of accessible information and unfamiliarity with disaster warning systems may have contributed to the loss of lives.

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Families still live in evacuation centers or ‘tent cities’ and in spontaneous settlements in tents or makeshift emergency shelters. The humanitarian appeal is less than half funded.

The Philippines humanitarian appeal for 2013 is seeking US$112 million to help people in Mindanao. Nearly 70 per cent of the funding will go to the Bopha response.

The Philippines was recently ranked the third most disaster-prone country in the world. Every year, the country is hit by powerful typhoons, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The ongoing conflict in the southern island of Mindanao adds to the hardship.

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