Attachments
A. Situation analysis
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10 October 2021: Tropical Storm Kompasu (locally known as Maring) merged with a Tropical Depression locally known as Nando, while moving towards the Extreme Northern Luzon. It further enhanced the southwest monsoon affecting the Philippines.
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11 October 2021: Tropical Storm Kompasu intensified into Severe Tropical Storm and passed very close to south of Camiguin Island, after which it made a landfall in the vicinity of Fuga Island, Cagayan (Region II).
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12 October 2021: Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu further enhanced the monsoon, bringing more rain to already inundated areas and causing flooding and rain-induced landslides.
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14 October 2021: Due to the heavy rains and the high saturation of soil moisture, flooding including flash floods and rain-induced landslides continued to be reported across the Luzon island group.
On 7 October 2021, a Low-Pressure Area East of Camarines Norte developed into a tropical depression while moving erratically over the Philippine Sea, and on the following day intensified into a Tropical Storm called Kompasu (locally known as Maring). On 10 October 2021, Tropical Storm Kompasu merged with a Tropical Depression (locally known as Nando) and continued moving towards the Extreme Northern Luzon. It enhanced the annual southwest monsoon (locally known as Habagat) affecting the Philippines since early June 2021.
On 11 October, Tropical Storm Kompasu intensified into Severe Tropical Storm (STS) and passed close to south of Camiguin Island, after which it made a landfall in the vicinity of Fuga Island, Cagayan in Region II. It further enhanced the southwest monsoon, bringing more rain to already inundated areas and causing heavy flooding in Cagayan Valley, MIMAROPA and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals (TCWS) up to level two were in place in many provinces across Luzon. Although, the Severe Tropical Storm exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday 12 October, further heavy rains were experienced. As a result of the weather disturbances, there are humanitarian needs identified in Northern Luzon (detailed below).
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has reported a total of 235 flooded areas and 31 incidents of rain-induced landslides in Regions I, II, III, MIMAROPA, CARAGA and CAR. Flooding up to waist level has been caused by continuous rains and the high saturation of soil moisture. In Pangasinan, the Marusay/ Sinucalan River has been reported overflowing, and in addition high tide and fluvial flooding have been experienced in low-lying areas. Residents of the flooded regions, particularly those living near rivers, in low-lying areas or mountainous areas, have been advised by the Philippine government to take actions against flooding and landslides.
Ongoing assessment will unravel the full extent of the effects and damage, but the latest figures reported by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and Department of Social Welfare and Development – Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DSWD - DROMIC) are summarized in the table below:
The ongoing typhoon season is on average forecasted to bring another six typhoons to the Philippines by the end of the year. Therefore, there is a risk of a significant increase in the vulnerability of people left without suitable shelter and livelihood. The disruption to agricultural production will also impact communities’ food security over the coming months.
In addition, La Niña Alert Level was raised on 13 September 2021 that might contribute to the amount of rainfall being experienced in the country in the last quarter of 2021.
The severe tropical storm and subsequent flooding arrived while the Philippines authorities and partner organizations are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic (MDRCOVID19) and while communities are still recovering from the typhoons in October and November 2020 (Goni and Vamco MDRPH041). Since January 2020, the country has experienced the spread of COVID-19. On 12 March 2020, the Philippine government raised a Code Red sublevel 2 as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). This has imposed stringent measures on the country including measures of physical distancing, enhanced community quarantines (ECQ), and limitation of movement within the entire country.
As of 14 October 2021, the Department of Health has reported a total of 2,698,232 cases of COVID-19, out of which 84,850 are active cases, 2,573,161 recoveries and 40,221 deaths. The daily number of new reported COVID-19 cases has reduced to less than 10,000 from its peak in September 2021, when more than 20,000 cases were reported daily.