Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Philippines

Philippines: Typhoon OCHA Situation Report No. 11

Attachments

HIGHLIGHTS

Overview: After successive typhoons hit 62 out of 79 provinces in the Philippines with cataclysmic magnitude last year, most people are now beginning to rebuild their livelihoods, but are deemed more vulnerable than previously. Generally, emergency "life-saving" needs have been well met by both the government and humanitarian agencies. There are, however residual emergencies needs of over 3,000 families in the evacuation and transit centres, who are expected to remain there for the next 6 months. The focus of most activities coordinated through the clusters is shifting the humanitarian efforts from emergency relief towards recovery and beyond.

- HEALTH: There are no outbreaks of communicable diseases reported.

- SHELTER: A total of 12,105 shelter toolkits will be provided by the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) to the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Marinduque, Mindoro Oriental, Aurora, Quezon, Isabela and Masbate at the end of February. Assistance for permanent resettlements remains insufficient despite efforts of local non-government and government organizations.

- FOOD: Small quantities of food rations are regularly provided for the displaced families, particularly vulnerable groups (children, elderly and disabled) in evacuation and transit centres. However, the quantity of food provided for this group of people, who are likely to stay for 6 months, needs to be increased and sustained.

- CAMP MANAGEMENT: 3,067 displaced families in 25 evacuation and transit centres in Albay continue to await land acquisitions of the resettlement sites by the government. In the meantime, basic services and the maintenance and improvement of facilities in evacuation and transit centres on going.

- WATSAN: From the 25 evacuation and transit centres in Albay, 76% now meet safe water standards, 52% meet latrine standards and 92% meet solid waste disposal standards. The water supply system in Taysan is reported to be suffering from low discharge and e-coli bacterial contamination.

- PROTECTION: A general sense of confusion among the IDPs in the evacuation centres about relocation plans, and that lack of clear information about the rules and procedures for availing of housing units causes anxiety among the IDPs.

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

This report is organized by clusters (indicating the agency that is the lead in the Philippines) and provides general information for each sector and the needs and gaps, the response and planned actions, and the challenges and problems.

SHELTER (Led by IFRC)

In support of shelter conditions in the evacuation and transition sites, IOM and Oxfam are continuing to engage in upgrading the shelter and sanitation facilities. Meanwhile, several church groups in cooperation with local residents have already embarked on constructing permanent houses. The government also plans to construct more permanent housing units upon finalizing negotiations for the acquisition of lands. However, these efforts still need supplementing as the overall housing requirements of the affected population is high. While 30% of the affected population identified by the government is assumed to have capacity to reconstruct their habitat, some will be assisted by the government and other organizations but thousands people remain without any assistance for permanent resettlement. The Philippine Institute of Volcanolgy and Seismology (PHILVOCS) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) are still working to update information on "danger" areas in the provinces.

Disclaimer

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.