Philippines: Typhoon Season 2009 Situation Report No. 18

This report was issued by OCHA New York based on inputs from the OCHA Regional Office for Asia Pacific (ROAP) and OCHA Philippines. It covers the period from 10 to 16 November 2009 and addresses Typhoon Parma/Pepeng, Tropical Storm Ketsana/Ondoy as well as Typhoon Mirinae/Santi. The next report will be issued on or around 24 November.

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

- The Revised 2009 Philippines Flash Appeal was launched of Wednesday, 18 November. The revised appeal seeks funding in the amount of $143 million to provide relief and early recovery assistance to 4.2 million affected people in the Philippines.

- WASH concerns continue to be a priority with reports of seriously underserved communities and evacuation centres (ECs) in many urban and rural regions.

- The closure of ECs in National Capital Region (NCR) and Region IV-A continues to provoke protection concerns.

- A joint follow-up mission to the affected Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) took place from 14-16 November.

- The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported that three ashes explosions occurred on the Mayon Volcano, south-east of the capital Manila, on 11 November. The volcano remains at Alert Level 2 which indicates a state of unrest and possible further eruptions.

II. Situation Overview

- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reports that the combined effects of Tropical Storm Ketsana/Ondoy and Typhoons Parma/Pepeng and Mirinae/Santi claimed the lives of 961 people, while 756 have been reported injured and 90 remain missing.

- The most recent DSWD reports indicate that 29,616 families, or 135,106 people, are living in 458 ECs.

- Department of Health (DOH) reports that, as of 12 November, 160 barangays remain flooded, affecting 223,289 families or 1,172,085 individuals. According to the HEARS PLUS emergency health report, 202,000 families in Region IV-A, more than one million people, continue to live in areas where flood waters have yet to recede.

- WASH concerns continue to be a priority with reports of seriously underserved ECs in many urban and rural regions. Medicins San Frontieres Holland (MSFH) reported results of a rapid assessment in Zambales that revealed alarming shortcomings in the WASH services in three ECs. In one case, an EC in the Botolan municipality housing 4653 people had only four functioning latrines. In another, 736 people had access to only two latrines. The third EC, a "tent city", had two poorly functioning latrines for 862 people.

- Information management and coordination measures continue in an effort to identify gaps in delivery, especially in difficult to access communities.

- A joint follow-up mission to the affected Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) took place from 14-16 November. Participants included IFRC, UNDP, UNHCR, Spanish Red-Cross, UNICEF, IOM and OCHA representing the WASH, CCCM/NFI, Shelter, Protection and Early Recovery clusters. The joint team visited 12 ECs in Itogon, Tublay and La Trinidad within Benguet province. A stopover was also made in Tadian, Mountain Province. The team also visited a relocation site identified by Local Government Units (LGUs) on the DSWD-accompanied mission. It is estimated that 200 families (867 individuals) were affected mainly by landslide following the typhoons. Overall the relief phase is sufficiently covered; however, there are a few small gaps in NFIs. The concerns now focus on the recovery period, including the relocation process of affected persons and livelihoods. A final report with more details will be available shortly.