ReliefWeb

In the wake of Washi, a tropical storm that affected the lives of 1.1 million people last December, Handicap International took immediate action to provide emergency aid to the victims. From 20th February 2012, Handicap International teams will begin using mobile teams to supply aid to highly vulnerable individuals, including people with disabilities and the inhabitants of isolated areas.

Following Handicap International’s evaluation mission in Cagayan de Oro at the end of December, performed in the aftermath of Typhoon Washi, the first distributions of essential supplies (emergency shelter kits, hygiene kits and protection kits) were made at the beginning of January. These distributions were also an opportunity to make a more detailed needs assessment.

Information was gathered from evacuation centres, local government representatives in towns and villages (mayors, district heads, social and health workers, etc.), victims of the disaster and people with disabilities. Handicap International also took part in several coordination meetings with humanitarian operators and the authorities.

As a result, Handicap International is focusing its actions on the following key areas:

Setting up Disability and Vulnerability Focal Points (DVFPs) in order to:

Help people with disabilities and highly vulnerable individuals (the elderly, pregnant women, unaccompanied children, etc.) access aid designed for disaster victims in general; Identify the specific needs of people with disabilities and supply specialised, medical or technical solutions as appropriate. Two mobile teams will also be set up to cover several villages and evacuation centres, particularly in areas located furthest from the city centre. They will identify the needs of the most vulnerable individuals, including people with disabilities, the elderly, people suffering from chronic diseases, pregnant women, etc., distribute essential supply kits, technical aids and specific items, and provide responsive technical support.

Handicap International will team up with other humanitarian operators to set up a referral system for disaster victims, raise the awareness of disability issues in emergency situations among humanitarian operators and the authorities, and support inclusive activities (to ensure the involvement of people with disabilities).

At the same time, Handicap International will build the capacity of disabled people’s organisations to lobby local authorities regarding the implementation of laws affecting people with disabilities. They should also be in a position to help people with disabilities with regards to specific activities, such as risk prevention in natural disasters, and coordinate their efforts with other international operators to perform emergency interventions by targeting the specific needs of disabled and vulnerable people.

Background Information On Friday 16th December 2011, typhoon Washi, locally known as Sedong, brought 10 hours of torrential rain that triggered disastrous flash flooding over Mindanao – in the South of the Philippines - an area where tropical cyclones are not common. Overnight, almost a thousand people were killed. According to the United Nations, more than 50,000 houses were damaged and livelihoods of some 1.1 million people were affected. One month on, 26,000 survivors remain in largely overcrowded evacuation centres in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Another 200,000 people are seeking refuge in makeshift shelters and with host families in their areas of origin.

Handicap International has supplied aid on several occasions to victims of natural disasters in the Philippines, including to people affected by typhoons Ketsana, Parma and Santi in the province of Rizal in 2009, and also following Typhoon Megi in October 2010.