Philippines: Typhoon Season 2009 Situation Report No. 19

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 20 to 25 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 1 December.

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

- The total official number of damaged houses has risen to 307,000 units. Shelter support is seriously under-funded (less than 10 percent).

- The IASC inputs to the PDNA report is in its final stages, with UNDP consolidating the input to the World Bank editing team.

II. Situation Overview

- The humanitarian situation is still critical for people who are displaced, still living in areas submerged in water or people in areas that have been isolated by landslides. Accessibility in northern Luzon remains an issue, with many barangays (village) isolated by damaged bridges and landslides. Efforts to reach inaccessible areas by air are ongoing.

- The total number of damaged houses has increased to almost 307,000 (46,000 destroyed, 261,000 partially damaged) (NDCC, 14 November). In the last week the total damages of Mirinae/Santi (67,000 houses) surpassed those of Parma/Pepeng (54,000 houses). The Government is in the process of finalizing the validation process. The affected population is either sheltered in their (damaged) houses, in Evacuation Centers (ECs), in relocation sites and with host families, or have moved back to their province with the Balik Probinsiya program (269 families).

- As of 16 November 2009, 78,915 families (382,541 individuals) reside in still-flooded areas in 871 barangays in 125 municipalities of National Capital Region, Region IV-B, and Region V.

- Leptospirosis cases arising from the disaster from Region NCR, I, II, III, IVA and CAR total 3,382 cases, with 249 cumulative mortalities

III. Humanitarian Needs and Response

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Needs: The key humanitarian concern is access to safe water, sanitation facilities and hygiene items in the relocation camps and in residential areas affected by the floods. Other top priorities include rehabilitation and improvement of drainage, solid waste collection and vector control.

Response: Emergency response projects are ending with recovery programmes taking over. Remaining emergency issues relate to evacuees from areas that remain flooded, who are told not to return to unsafe areas or who continue to live in flooded areas. MSF-Switzerland and France are winding down their emergency programmes. Sanitation projects in the recovery phase are ongoing with Handicap International, Oxfam, MSF-France, PNRC, IOM and Save the Children.

Gaps and Challenges: Evacuees in several municipalities are being moved out of the schools which were being used as ECs after Tropical Storm Ketsana/Ondoy. With no central plan for resettlement, relocation of evacuees is the responsibility of each municipality. The different clusters have reported difficulties in monitoring the closure of camps and movement of evacuees, which in turn has hampered agencies' ability to plan and provide sanitation support. In several reported cases, evacuees go to temporary relocation sites, usually covered courts (e.g. basketball courts), until suitable land is found for a more permanent solution. Several areas, particularly near the lakeside, have been defined as unsafe areas of return. A list of areas considered unsafe has not been widely distributed by the Government. The list is necessary to help WASH Cluster members plan appropriate support.

Food

Needs: Additional food assistance needs following Typhoon Parma/Pepeng have been incorporated in the revised UN Flash Appeal launched on 18 November. WFP is waiting for the final approval from its HQ to extend support for early recovery activities through June 2010. WFP's Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) was concluded on 20 November. Various UN agencies and NGO partners participated in the assessment. Data entry has commenced and the final report will be available by the end of November. The preliminary results have been incorporated into the Post Disaster Needs Assessment led by World Bank and developing partners.

Response: WFP plans to distribute rice and high-energy biscuits in six regions - Region I, II, III, IV/A, CAR and NCR - for the month of November. Preparation for WFP's supplementary feeding programme is underway. 50,000 children between 6 - 24 months old will receive a monthly take-home ration of fortified blended food, sugar and oil. The programme is scheduled to start January 2010 and will target children in the provinces of Laguna and Rizal of Region IV-A. IEC materials to support the School Food Program (SFP) implementation will be developed. WFP is planning to reach an additional 16,000 children in Luzon with Micronutrient Powder (MNP). The operational area for this programme is yet to be finalized. Community Family Services International (CFSI), WFP's Cooperating Partner in Region III, completed the postdistribution monitoring on 20 November. The monitoring reports indicated that WFP food relief was wellreceived and appreciated by beneficiaries and no food selling was reported. A weekly Food Cluster Coordination Meeting was organized 24 November.

Gaps and Challenges: Funding shortfalls are expected to rise significantly with the approval of the revised WFP emergency operation. Continued donor support is needed to provide food assistance to the most vulnerable and severely affected populations in Luzon.

Health

Needs: Leptospirosis cases from Region NCR, I, II, III, IVA and CAR since the disaster now totals 3,382 cases, with 249 cumulative mortalities.

Response: The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) team is still finalizing its report, which will be released upon consolidation. A total of 337,936 individuals have been given prophylaxis in NCR and Region IV-A. Mapping of affected primary centers is still ongoing. Continued mobile health care services and psychosocial program coverage are being provided in affected areas through the efforts of partner agencies and NGOs.

Gaps and Challenges: Several areas still have limited access to medical care service. No 24/7 health services are available in evacuation centers. Access of evacuees to secondary and tertiary health care is limited. Disease surveillance and reporting systems must be urgently strengthened.

Camp Coordination/NFIs

Needs: There are currently over 300 ECs concentrated mainly in Region IV-A and NCR hosting a population of up to 92,300 people (DSWD, 15 November). Weekly assessments are ongoing of all the evacuation sites. A pilot programme in four municipalities was implemented last week to support the Department for Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in leading this data collection and reporting. The results will be finalized this week. Reports of rapid closures of ECs have been documented in Muntinlupa City of NCR and Rizal Province of Region IV-A. Further investigation is on-going in relation to these closures.

Response: The cluster is increasing its assessment capacity by engaging government authorities in data collection. The CCCM/NFI Displacement Tracking Matrix has compiled multi-sectoral data on 159 evacuation centres principally through IOM and Philippines National Red Cross (PNRC) teams; however, data collection and compilation is being transitioned to DSWD with agency support. Physical rehabilitation of high risk evacuation centres in NCR and Region IV-A commenced this week in 12 evacuation centres. NFI Tracking is on-going and will be rolled out by Local Government Units in the worst affected municipalities. There has been continued engagement of local and national government around the closure of evacuation centres. In line with this the last CCCM/NFI cluster meeting was hosted by the city government of Muntinlupa with participation from the regional DSWD office.

Gaps and Challenges: There is still a significant shortfall in terms of servicing the 1.7 million people targeted in the revised Flash Appeal, who are living in flooded areas and ECs requiring NFI assistance. Accessing adequate data is a particular concern as the situation remains highly fluid with ECs closing or relocating rapidly. More EC assessment teams are still required. Obtaining information from all stakeholders with respect to NFI distribution continues to be difficult.