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Philippines

Philippines Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 10 | 1 – 31 October 2015

Attachments

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Over 700,000 people remain displaced due to flooding caused by Typhoon Koppu.

  • Small-scale farmers in Central Luzon suffer dual effects of El Niño and the typhoon.

  • About 3,300 people, mostly indigenous Lumads, displaced in Surigao del Sur for two months.

  • Livelihoods key to the recovery of an estimated 28,500 IDPs in Zamboanga.

FIGURES

Typhoon Koppu

of IDPs 713,600

of IDPs in evacuation centres 9,100

of IDPs outside evacuation centres 704,400

of destroyed houses 18,800

of partially damaged houses 118,900

Cost of agricultural damage $180 M

Source: NDRRMC, Department of Agriculture (as of 3 November 2015).

Zamboanga Crisis

of IDPs in transitional sites 17,200

of IDPs temporarily returned to their places of origin 2,100

of “home-based” IDPs 11,300*

of IDPs who received permanent housing or home material assistance 12,600**

Source: CCCM Cluster (as of 26 October 2015). *Protection Cluster (as of December 2014). **National Housing Authority (as of 4 November 2015).

Rapidly responding to Typhoon Koppu

Typhoon displaces more than 1 million people

Category-3 Typhoon Koppu (known locally as Lando) made landfall over Casiguran municipality in Aurora province in Region III on 18 October. While not striking with the same strength as super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in November 2013, Typhoon Koppu was unusually large and slow-moving and brought intense rain within its 650 km diameter for more than four days. It caused flooding, flash floods and landslides, leaving 48 people dead, 83 injured and 4 still missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). The typhoon steadily weakened to a low pressure area as it exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility a week after landfall, affecting all seven regions of the Luzon island.

The number of evacuees reached a peak of 1 million people on 29 October, 11 days after typhoon’s landfall. Northern Luzon is a mountainous region and it took several days for the rainwater to flow downstream and exacerbate flooding in the low-lying river basins where floodwater is known to recede slowly. Flooding persists in the provinces of Pangasinan (Region I), Pampanga and Bulacan (Region III) in the Cagayan and Pampanga river basins as of 3 November while subsiding elsewhere. It could take until mid-November for the floodwaters to completely recede. Prolonged displacement due to persistent flooding raises the risk of water-borne and communicable disease outbreaks.
Some 713,600 people remain displaced as of 3 November. The vast majority are with relatives and friends or in the open nearby their damaged homes in Regions I, II and III where damage to houses was the most significant. People with damaged houses may remain displaced until their homes are repaired or reconstructed, requiring extended humanitarian aid such as enhanced disease surveillance, shelter repair kits, protection particularly against trafficking, and livelihoods support.

Flooding devastates small-scale farmers already suffering from El Niño

Typhoon Koppu flooded vast tracts of agricultural land in Region III. Estimated cost of damage to agriculture reached US$180 million, primarily in crop loss, according to the Department of Agriculture. Rice, which is the staple crop in the Philippines, constitutes 88 per cent of the crop production loss.

Recovery of small-scale farmers will be slow as many do not have access to credit and their current cropping season (May to October) was already affected by the intensifying El Niño since early 2015, according to the government-led multi-sectoral rapid damage and needs assessment (RDANA) undertaken from 22 to 27 October. With now two consecutive cropping seasons ruined, the next harvest is expected a year from now, raising concerns for deterioration in food insecurity and malnutrition. A rapid provision of agricultural inputs will help restore and protect the availability of food as well as to rebuild the livelihoods of those hard-hit by the typhoon.

Disclaimer

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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