Situation Overview
The Philippines is grappling with the compounded impacts of six successive tropical cyclones—Severe Tropical Storm Trami (locally named Kristine), Super Typhoon Kong-rey (locally named Leon), Typhoon Yinxing (locally named Marce), Typhoon Toraji locally named (Nika), Super Typhoon Usagi (locally named Ofel), and Super Typhoon Man-yi (locally named Pepito) across 17 regions in the country. Over 13 million people have been impacted by these typhoons and in some areas, the communities were affected at least thrice. In the 15 worst -affected provinces, about 5.9 million people are affected and cumulatively, 2.9 million people were displaced.
The last three storms have collectively displaced hundreds of thousands, with 79,123 people still in evacuation centers (ECs) and at least 45,000 people living in precarious informal settlements or damaged homes. Widespread destruction to infrastructure, including over 79,000 homes, schools, and health facilities, has intensified the challenges of recovery, especially with the typhoon season still ongoing.
The series of tropical cyclones began with Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Kristine in the week of 21 October, which triggered widespread flooding and landslides, particularly in Regions 2, 4A and 5. The flooding caused by STS Kristine persisted for several days, worsening the conditions for displaced communities, damaging houses and agricultural crops, disrupting livelihoods and severely hindering the movement of relief supplies to affected areas.
As STS Kristine was about to exit Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), Super Typhoon (STY) Leon passed over the eastern seaboard of the country severely impacting Batanes which is still recovering from the effects of Typhoon Krathon (Julian) in late September.
In less than a week, Typhoon Marce followed the track of STY Leon but this time shifting westward impacting northern Luzon. Again, right when Marce exited the PAR, Severe STS Nika made landfall in Aurora province.
Another tropical cyclone, Usagi (Ofel) made landfall in Cagayan as a super typhoon on 14 November.
STY Pepito , was the most recent storm, with sustained winds exceeding 185 km/h, made two landfalls—Catanduanes on 16 November, and Aurora Province the day after.
Critical gaps persist in shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), livelihoods, food, non-food items (NFIs) and protection services. Families are returning to unsafe areas due to a lack of resettlement options and face heightened risks of disease and displacement recurrence. Response efforts are ongoing with key humanitarian partners addressing priority needs including provision of alternative livelihoods.
In early November, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) launched the Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) plan for Tropical Cyclones and Floods outlining the need for US$32.9 million to support humanitarian efforts in the country. By 17 November, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) approved an allocation of $3.5M under the Rapid Response window, to support lifesaving and critical interventions in the wake of STS Kristine. The priority sectors for this allocation are WASH, NFI, Emergency Shelter, Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH). This consolidated assessment report aims to capture updated information and analysis on the impact of the most recent typhoons, namely, Nika, Ofel and Pepito.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.