Typhoon Sarika - Oct 2016
Overview
A weather disturbance which formed earlier this week, in the sea, east of Philippines has intensified to Typhoon Sarika (local name Karen). The national meteorological agency estimates that Sarika will make landfall in the Aurora Quezon area as an equivalent of Category 2 cyclone early Sunday, 16 October. (IFRC, 15 Oct 2016)
Typhoon Sarika made landfall in the Philippines in Aurora province, eastern Luzon...on 15 October, as a strong Typhoon...It crossed Luzon swiftly, passing through the provinces of Aurora, Nueva Vizcava, Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan, losing strength but remaining a typhoon. The National Disaster Management Agency in the morning of 17 October (UTC) reported no casualties, about 200 houses damaged, minor landslides and power cuts. Around 40 000 people were preemptively evacuated and about 25 000 of them were still in shelters as of same date. (ECHO, 17 Oct 2016)
Typhoon Sarika emerged over the South China Sea a few hours after landfall in the Philippines and moved W-NW in the general direction of Hainan province of China. (ECHO, 17 Oct 2016)
As of 03 November, the official partial estimates of damage caused by both typhoons Sarika and Haima, which hit northern Luzon on 19 October, included 248 872 tonnes of lost crops. Large numbers of people are still living in temporary shelters and relying on humanitarian support. Most of the population affected by the typhoons are critically dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods and many are vulnerable to food insecurity. (FAO, 03 Nov 2016)
As of 04 November, preliminary official estimates indicated that about 400,000 hectares of paddy, maize and high value crops (such as mango, banana, papaya, cassava and vegetables) were adversely affected by both typhoons Haima and Sarika. The overall damage to the agriculture sector was estimated to be close to USD 234 million. However, the overall impact on 2016 cereal crops is expected to be limited. (FAO, 16 Nov 2016)
On 18 October, Typhoon Sarika made landfall on China's southern island of Hainan as a Category 2 typhoon with torrential rain and winds of up to 162 km/h. Nearly 500,000 people were evacuated from coastal and low-lying areas. (OCHA, 24 Oct 2016)
As of 19 October In Hainan province, more than 500 houses collapsed and more than 2,000 were damaged, according to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs. (IDMC, 19 Oct 2016)
Severe flooding triggered by heavy rainfall in the central provinces of Viet Nam has forced thousands of families to evacuate to safer grounds and left many other residents stranded without food or safe drinking water in their homes. According to local authorities, at least 21 people have died, 18 were injured, and 8 others are still missing after the floods inundated more than 27,000 houses and damaged 770 homes in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Binh, which was the most impacted. Around 1,600 hectares of rice fields have been damaged and some families lost their livestock in the floods. (IFRC, 18 Oct 2016)
On 17 November, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent launched an Emergency Appeal seeking 1.4 million Swiss francs to support the Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC) to deliver assistance and support to 30,775 people for nine months, with a focus on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); shelter (including household non-food items); disaster risk reduction and National Society capacity building. According to the IFRC, people in affected areas have inadequate access to basic hygiene and limited access to safe water and nutritional food, potentially exposing them to health risks. (IFRC, 17 Nov 2016)
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reports that Typhoon Sarika affected a total of 70,169 families, or 300,396 people, in six regions: I, II, III, CALABARZON, V and CAR. (IFRC, 14 Dec 2016)
On 20 December, the European Commission announced the release of € 328 000 in humanitarian aid funding to channel emergency relief to communities affected by typhoons Sarika and Haima. The aid will focus on providing assistance to meet the most pressing needs of 17 000 people in some of the worst hit provinces: Aurora, Cagayan, Catanduanes, Kalinga and Nueva Vizcaya. (ECHO, 20 Dec 2016)
Useful Links
Affected countries
The situation
Three tropical cyclones affected Philippines between September and October: Typhoon Meranti (locally known as Ferdie) which affected the northernmost Philippine province in Batanes; Typhoon Sarika (locally known as Meranti) which made landfall in the central part of Luzon in Baler, Aurora; and Typhoon Haima (locally known as Lawin).
Highlights:
• In mid-October, the Philippines was struck by two typhoons in close succession, Sarika, a Category 4 event on 16 October and Haima, a Category 5 event on 19 October. Central and northern parts of Luzon were the most affected areas.
• Strong winds, heavy rains and localized floods caused the loss of life and severe damage to the agriculture sector, including losses of the main staple rice paddy crop, as well as of maize and other high value crops. In addition, losses were reported in the livestock and fishery sectors.
BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Nov. 2 (PIA) – A day before the landfall of typhoons ‘Karen” and “Lawin” here, the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) early deployment of its heavy equipment has been the major key in unparalized flow of traffic along the Maharlika highway for a long time.
BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Nov. 2 (PIA) – The government is hastening the provision of various assistance for victims severely affected by previous typhoons “Karen” and “Lawin”, Department of Agriculture (DA) officials here said.
Celerina Miranda, DA provincial chief, said they have already completed the report of damages caused by the two typhoons right after their landfall since last week which includes the proposed Rehabilitation Plan for the affected farmers.
1. Key points
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS), donors have committed/contributed US$16 million of humanitarian assistance to the Philippines since the start of 2016.
The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) is currently the largest humanitarian donor to the Philippines in 2016, with reported commitments of US$5.4 million.
Highlights
Instances of internal displacement caused by conflict, violence, and disasters between 6 - 19 October
PHILIPPINES
On 19 October, Category 4 Typhoon Haima (locally named Lawin) made landfall in Cagayan province. After landfall, the storm left a broad path of debris, causing flooding and landslides, and damaging about 46,000 houses. As of 24 October, authorities have confirmed eight fatalities and approximately 159,000 people remain displaced (38,000 people are staying inside evacuation centres and 121,000 people outside of evacuation centres). The Government is leading the humanitarian response and has declined an offer of international assistance.
PHILIPPINES
The Philippines was hit by two typhoons in this period of time. The first typhoon, named Sarika, has damaged 12,777 houses and affected 300,386 people in the central and northern Luzon. The second typhoon, i.e. Haima, also affected about 158,000 people and caused 14 death in northern Luzon.
INDONESIA
Flood affected 1,000 families in Palopo, South Sulawesi Province. Flood also submerged 747 houses in Luwu District.
Nearly 15,500 people were reportedly affected by flood in Nagan Raya, Aceh Province.
VIET NAM
Tropical Cyclone SARIKA made landfall close to Fangchenggang city (Guangxi province, China) on 19 morning UTC, as a Tropical Storm. It then continued moving north north-east over Guangxi, dissipating.
According to National Authorities, as of 20 October early morning (UTC), in China over 47 000 people have been evacuated and over 2 500 houses have been partially or fully damaged in Hainan.
Over the next 24 h, heavy rain could still affect the southern provinces of China (Hainan, Guangdong, Yunann, Guizhou and Guangxi) and northern Vietnam.
Within the span of a week, powerful back-to-back typhoons pummeled the Philippines in October. First, Typhoon Sarika made landfall over Luzon on October 15, 2016. Then Typhoon Haima hit the island four days later.
Tropical Cyclone SARIKA, after crossing Hainan province (China), is reaching north-eastern Vietnam, as a Tropical Storm. On 19 October at 0.00 (UTC) it center was located 35 km off the coast of Van Don district (Quang Ninh province, Vietnam) and had max. sustained winds of 65 km/h (Tropical Storm).
SITUATION
HAIMA is moving over the Philippine Sea, significantly strengthening and becoming a very intense Typhoon, heading towards north-eastern Luzon. On 19 October at 06.00 UTC it had max. sustained winds of 250 km/h and its centre was about 230 km southeast-east of Isabela province.
A. Situation analysis
Singapore, 19 October - Singapore Red Cross (SRC) has committed S$100,000 for Philippines and S$50,000 for Vietnam, in emergency response for Typhoons Ferdie (Meranti), Karen (Sarika) and Haima (Lawin). Singapore Red Cross will support disaster response services of the Philippines Red Cross (PRC) and the Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC), including the provision of blankets, shelter materials, hot meals, family and food packs, biscuits, as well as psychosocial support services to the communities affected by the series of typhoons.
Category four Typhoon Haima (locally known as Lawin) continues to strengthen and will be hitting Northern Luzon, Philippines with heavy rains and strong winds. An estimated 2.7 million people will be affected by Haima in several provinces in northern part of the country.
Local authorities have been placed on full alert for typhoon Sarika, which is predicted to make landfall in areas from Quảng Ninh to Hải Phòng at around 4pm today.
The storm was located 330km southeast of Quảng Ninh-Hải Phòng provinces at 4pm yesterday, with wind speed at the eye of the storm reaching 135km per hour, according to the National Hdyrometeorological Forecast Centre.
The storm keeps moving north and north-west and is expected to weaken into a low tropical pressure in the next 36 hours.
Editor: huaxia
HAIKOU, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Sarika, the 21st typhoon of the year, made landfall in south China's Hainan Tuesday morning as torrential rain and gales lashed the island province.
The tropical cyclone, with maximum winds of up to 162 km per hour recorded in the eye of the storm, landed at Hele Town, Wanning City, at 9:50 a.m., according to the local meteorological bureau.
The National Meteorological Center issued a red alert, its highest-level alert, for Sarika, Tuesday morning.
Tropical Cyclone SARIKA (“KAREN”)
19 October 2016, Philippines/Viet Nam - The Philippine Red Cross is mounting preparedness efforts as Typhoon Haima gains strength, and could possibly develop into a super typhoon later this week before making landfall over the Cagayan area. The typhoon is expected to hit the area early Thursday (20 October) morning. Haima, which developed right after Typhoon Sarika exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), could have significant humanitarian impact if it continues on its projected course across northern and central Luzon – the same areas struck by Typhoon Koppu last year.
QUEZON CITY, Oct. 19 - Field Offices (FOs) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are now replenishing and prepositioning relief supplies in preparation for the landfall of Typhoon Lawin in the Luzon area.
DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo assured the public that the Department is keeping close tabs on the status of relief goods prepositioned for the local government units ( LGUs) in the areas that will be affected by Typhoon Lawin.
