The Philippines - Typhoon Haiyan ECHO CRISIS REPORT N 1

Transcription

1 The Philippines - Typhoon Haiyan ECHO CRISIS REPORT N 1 Period covered 1. Map Time of validity /00 (local) 12/00 (UTC) ECHO Field Office Manila Philippines Number of people affected: 6.9M (NDRRMC)/ 4.3 million (Plan Intl. est)/ 2.5 million (WFP est.) Number of refugees and/or internally displaced persons (IDPs) IDPs: (NDRRMC) Number of dead: (NDRRMC) / (police est.) Number of missing: 82 (NDRRMC) Number of wounded : (NDRRMC) 2. ECHO Recommendation / action In view of the scale of the crisis outlined below, DG ECHO finds that the current humanitarian situation requires immediate emergency interventions for the most affected communities. International support is urgently needed for food assistance, emergency shelter, basic essentials (non-food items-nfi), provision of health services and humanitarian aid coordination. The ECHO rapid field assessment team has reported enormous devastation, justifying the decision to release fast-track financial aid of EUR The primary emergency decision (PED) announced on 10 November 2013 is to cover the most urgent emergency needs of the people suffering in the worst-affected areas. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCP) has been activated to ensure coordinated European relief efforts. Further reinforcement from the ECHO Regional Support Office in Bangkok has been provided to support the ECHO team in the Philippines. ECHO Emergency Contact Tel.: Fax: echo-ercc@ec.europa.eu 3. Situation An extremely powerful storm, Typhoon Haiyan (locally named, Yolanda) made six landfalls over eastern, central and western Visayas between 04:40 Page 1 of 6

2 and 20:00 on 8 November 2013 with maximum sustained winds of 235 km/h near the centre, and gusts of up to 275 km/h. As of 06:00 on 12 November, the Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that a total of 1.4 million families were affected in barangays (villages) in 39 provinces. The official death toll announced by the government is currently 1 774, while other sources have reported that the number may finally exceed The final impact of the typhoon is not yet fully determined. Almost all of the most affected areas suffered a loss of communications, electrical power, and transport access. Many local government agencies were also affected by the typhoon and hence unable to report their situation to the national level. Two DG ECHO teams were deployed in Leyte and Bohol islands, respectively, from the 9 to 11 November. The former was the first international humanitarian team to arrive in Leyte island for assessment. With Tacloban City (the main gateway to the region) totally inaccessible, the ECHO team - together with Plan International - was on the first boat to arrive in Ormoc City (south of Tacloban) the day following the catastrophic typhoon. The extent of destruction and isolation was confirmed during this field visit; areas up to 100 kilometres from the eye of the typhoon suffered 80% to 90% destruction of public facilities, houses and commercial establishments. All electricity lines were down and huge trees were uprooted. A similar level of destruction is assumed in the other areas along the typhoon path that stretched across the Visayas regions, which is estimated to have a population of up to 4 million. The following humanitarian situation was observed during the field assessment in Leyte: - There was an evacuation before the typhoon. Some evacuation centres were unable to withstand the strong winds or the storm surge. Some of the reported casualties were trapped in collapsed evacuation centres. The ECHO experts have reported that many of the buildings usually used for evacuation, such as schools, gymnasiums, and churches were severely damaged. - Food is the biggest problem. Along the eastern coast of the province, municipal officials stated that they distributed their emergency food stocks to evacuees prior to the typhoon's landfall. The national government (through the Philippines Air Force) has resorted to food-dropping. This has involved the use of military helicopters to drop rice in sacks. - As happens after a disaster of such a magnitude, coordination of relief assistance is one of the main challenges. In the eastern part of Leyte, the local municipal and barangay governments were badly affected by the disaster and hence also their ability to establish coordination structures for relief support. In Ormoc City, the situation was less chaotic but still poorly managed. The towns between there and Tacloban City further north have reportedly faced similar problems. This situation has also severely affected the ability to collect data in the local government units visited by the team. - The damage to infrastructure was massive within a 50 kilometre radius of the typhoon's eye. 90% to 100% of houses and government buildings were damaged, the electricity system was completely down, hospitals were damaged and roads were blocked by fallen trees and electricity poles. The Department of Public Works and Highways is, however, now starting to clear the roads. Huge amounts of waste and debris were seen in almost all areas. - Water is still available. People have broken the street fire-hydrants to obtain water while broken pipes on the roads and dug wells on farms are also a source. Nevertheless, there is still a big need for potable water. - The exact amount of damage to livelihoods is difficult to estimate at this stage, but it was observed that agricultural crops (sugar cane and coconut) were severely damaged. On the east coast, fishing equipment has been damaged. Page 2 of 6

3 The second team that went to Bohol aimed particularly to gauge the impact of the typhoon on the communities recently hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The following was observed: - The impact of the typhoon in Bohol province was not severe; it only affected the towns of Alicia, Buenavista, Carmen, and Trinidad. With pre-emptive evacuation, the provincial government was able to safely secure its population of 1.2 million. The typhoon-affected families have returned to their homes while those affected by the earthquake remained in the evacuation centres. The tented camps of earthquake evacuees were emptied during the typhoon and were set up again by the evacuees after the typhoon. - There were landslides in the municipalities of Cortes and Antiquerra, but the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported that these were not life-threatening. It was also reported that Pilar Dam (in the Municipality of Pilar) and Ubay Dam (in the Municipality of Ubay) overflowed due to the typhoon, but PDRRMC also indicated that this posed no threat to people's lives. - The field team's observations from the earthquake-affected areas in the municipalities of Loon, Antequerra and Maribojoc confirmed that the condition of the quake-affected population was not seriously aggravated by the typhoon although some electricity and water services were interrupted (and only few municipalities have generator sets for water generation and distribution). 4. Aid and assistance required / needs assessment The affected communities generally need the most basic emergency assistance having almost no relief so far. Food assistance: General food distributions will be required for at least the first three months. Communities have lost their food stocks and the next harvest. Markets are either not functioning or not accessible. Shelter and basic essential (non-food items): Emergency shelter, such as tarpaulin, is urgently required, especially given that the rainy season has not yet ended. Carpentry tools should be provided to help those who are starting to build temporary houses using salvaged materials. Non-food items such as sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, lights (kerosene lamps) and cooking utensils are also urgently needed. Health: Temporary health services through mobile clinics, field hospitals and health posts should be immediately established. Since all health structures (primary and secondary levels) were severely damaged and health workers were also badly affected, temporary health services are essential to attend to the injuries and health problems immediately resulting from the typhoon. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: Water kits including water purification agents such as Hyposol are necessary as the water quality is compromised. Sanitation should be improved through debris-clearing although it is noteworthy that people are already starting to clean-up their surroundings. They need support to collect and dispose of the huge amount of waste. At the household level, people need hygiene kits and these should be distributed together with the other non-food items. Coordination: Support for coordination is urgently needed. This must be established from the barangay (village) level up to municipal and provincial levels. Communication and Logistics: Urgent restoration of communication systems, especially at this time of emergency relief, must be prioritized. The government and the private telephone companies are restoring cellular phone services. Page 3 of 6

4 5. Local response The Philippines government declared a national state of calamity on 11 November 2013, three days after the disaster. This should help expedite the relief operations of the government and avoid overpricing and hoarding of basic commodities, especially food. The declaration also allows international support to come in immediately and augment the effort where the government lacks capacity. PHP 30.7 million (EUR ) worth of relief assistance was allocated by the government. The budget came from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (41% of the total relief assistance), Local Government Units (45%), and the Department of Health (14%). The government has also prepositioned and deployed personnel, 811 vehicles, 40 ships and 34 aircraft. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced that they can start to distribute food packs as soon as the law and order has been restored in Tacloban City. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has boosted police coverage in Tacloban; they have also imposed a curfew in the city between 20:00 and 04:00. Their priorities are: 1) to restore law and order; 2) to ensure access of food relief; and 3) to deal with the bodies of those killed in the disaster. The Philippine Red Cross distributed hot meals to 450 evacuees in Tacloban and to affected individuals in Masbate, San Pablo and Capiz. PRC has prepositioned tins of ready-to-eat food, blankets, plastic mats, hygiene kits, jerry cans, 10 units of health emergency tents and various other food and non-food items. 6. International response The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated that more than 20 countries have offered humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, in the form of search and rescue teams and medical personnel, relief goods, medical supplies and vaccines, cash and offers to deploy ships and aircraft. Countries that have made offers include: Australia (AUD million for relief supplies, support to the UN Flash Appeal, interventions by Australian NGOs, deployment of a medical assistance team; NFIs, and WASH items); Belgium (medics, a rapid response team and search & rescue personnel); Canada (CAD 5 million for shelter, food, water, livelihood support and other essential services, also support to IFRC); Chile (pledge with the form of assistance still to be - China donation of USD 100,000; Denmark (DKK 10 million); Finland (in-kind donations); Germany (23 tonnes of relief materials: water, food, NFIs, medical team with two tonnes of medical supplies to set up medical tents and emergency response team); Hungary (medics, rapid response team, and search & rescue personnel); Indonesia (medicine, drinking water and food); Israel (medics, a rapid response team and search and rescue personnel); Japan (medical team and UNDAC experts); Malaysia (medics/ rapid response team (RRT)/ search & rescue/personnel and supplies; Netherlands (undisclosed financial aid); New Zealand (NZD 2.15 million to IFRC and international organizations for immediate relief, NZD 1.25 million of this amount is yet to be allocated); Norway (NOK 20 million or PHP 140 million that will be channeled through the UN, Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations); Russia (air mobile hospital and rescue workers); Singapore (SGD 50,000 of the government and SGD emergency relief supplies); Saudi Arabia (USD 100,000 committed); Page 4 of 6

5 Spain (in kind donations); Sweden (SEK 15 million to the Red Cross, relief items, transportation/logistical support); Taiwan financial assistance (USD 200,000) and various relief items; Turkey (90 tons of relief items mainly NFIs and food, search and rescue personnel); United Arab Emirates (AED 36 million or USD 10 million); United Kingdom (up to GBP 10 million for shelter and water, in-kind donations of shelters materials and NFIs, humanitarian experts for relief mobilisation); Ireland (EUR 1 million); United States (initial USD 100,000 for health and WASH intervention, in-kind donations in form of NFIs, 55 tonnes of food products, tonnes of rice, and military rescue and logistical support; an additional USD 20 million); Vatican (donation of USD 150,000); Vietnam (USD 100,000). The United Nations launched a flash appeal for the Philippines for a total of USD 301 million. WFP plans to launch an emergency appeal of USD million for food distribution to 2.5 million people during 6 months. The distribution will start with the rice available in WFP emergency stock in Davao. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had committed USD 1.3 million worth of supplies. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has released CHF 475,495 from its disaster relief emergency fund (DREF) to support the National Society in deploying assessment teams and immediate supplies. An IFRC Emergency Appeal of CHF 72 million was launched. The IFRC has been working closely with Philippines Red Cross on the ground and has been involved in rescue operations. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) despatched 11 trucks of food and other essential relief supplies such as hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, jerrycans, tarpaulins, water bladders and watertreatment units, emergency latrines and medical supplies to Tacloban City. But these were delayed in Surigao City as all sea traffic was suspended. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will donate USD for relief aid in the Philippines and Vietnam. In coordination with NDRRMC, they also deployed the Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT) to Manila and Tacloban City for general relief support. A number of INGOs are starting to do their assessments. However, due to access difficulties access, some of them have been delayed. Plan International has already started distributing water kits and tarpaulins/plastic sheets in Samar. In the framework of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, Belgium has dispatched an advanced medical post and a water purification unit to help address the acute need for clean drinking water. The United Kingdom is providing shelter kits. Sweden is sending a base camp with communication equipment to support the international coordination effort. Luxembourg is dispatching a technical support team with satellite communication equipment. Germany will be providing a water purification unit. Further in-kind contributions to be delivered via the EUCP Mechanism are expected within the coming days. In order to facilitate the delivery of the European assistance and coordinate its integration within overall international disaster relief operations, as well as to support needs assessment, an EU Civil Protection team has been deployed to Cebu. 7. On-site coordination mechanism NDRRMC is the overall coordinating body for this disaster. Given the massive devastation of the typhoon, data collection on the impact of the typhoon has been slow since the outset on 8 November. Page 5 of 6

6 NDRRMC has requested UN-OCHA to help them undertake the multi-cluster assessment and establish coordination systems. 8. Other information N/A Page 6 of 6