Disaster Response Philippines Project #13969

Philippines Disaster Response Fund - Haiyan

by Peace Winds America

Project Report | Dec 2, 2013
Typhoon Haiyan Update - Relief in Palawan

By Jon Ehrenfeld | Project Officer

Hope and Destruction (CDRC/Marie-Charlotte Peze)

Relief Continues in Hard-Hit Philippines

Typhoon Haiyan has dropped off the front pages, but Peace Winds America and its partners are going strong. More than 3.3 million people are displaced, and the need for food, water, medicine, sanitation supplies, bedding, and shelter is greater than ever. The Citizens’ Disaster Response Center and the Southern Tagalog People’s Response Center are distributing relief items. They contain relief packs with 10 kilograms of rice, dried fish, tinned sardines, 500 mls of cooking oil, a sleeping mat, blanket, and utensils. At the same time they are providing disaster risk reduction education for future emergencies. Throughout, we are assessing needs on the ground and planning for recovery.

A Focus on Marginal Areas

The media for this typhoon has been centered in the populous areas in the east, around Tacloban and Leyte. Yet the devastation of the storm was enormous, and communities outside the media spotlight are at risk. PWA and CDRC are partnering to bring relief goods to 1,000 families in Busuanga Island, northeast of Palawan, where 85% of properties were damaged or destroyed. There the communities of Salvacion, Cheey, and Buluang are in critical need and far from the center of activity to the east.

Thinking Ahead to Recovery

Relief is still ongoing, yet now is the time to begin preparing a recovery strategy. PWA is drawing on its successful recovery strategy after the 3/11 tsunami in Japan. First, we are setting aside funds now, and committing to our partners that we will remain engaged throughout the disaster. Second, we are assessing relief needs, and evaluating likely areas for recovery. Presently PWA expects to provide recovery assistance for shelter and for fishing communities in coastal areas (boat/net repair, distribution of fishing supplies). Many relief organizations withdraw after the response phase – PWA stays on.

Your Support Has Made a Difference

PWA acknowledges and thanks its many donors in this catastrophe. Thanks to you, we were quickly able to commit to our partners on the ground, and ensure long-term help for the need in the Philippines. We couldn’t do it without you.

(CDRC / Marie-Charlotte Peze)

Destruction in Busuanga (CDRC)

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Nov 10, 2013
Flash Appeal - Philippines Typhoon Haiyan

By Jon Ehrenfeld | Project Officer

Children in Typhoon Haiyan (Source: Reuters)

Super Typhoon Haiyan strikes the Philippines

Super Typhoon Haiyan (locally named “Yolanda”) is “among the most powerful storms witnessed anywhere in modern times.” It is over 1,200 miles wide and showing gusts up to 235 miles per hour! The Philippines meteorological agency reports storm surges of up to 17 feet striking the provinces of Leyte, Daanbantayan, and Bantayan Island, devastating the Samar province, and hitting the provinces of Cebu , Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan. The Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council issued warnings and evacuation notices, and evacuations are occurring in 37 of the Philippine’s 82 provinces, with more than one million people already in evacuation centers. It is estimated that 18 million people have already been affected. Lives have been lost, buildings, homes, roads, and farms have been destroyed. Philippine and UN disaster managers say that the needs now are shelter, food, health, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), camp management, and logistics.

Peace Winds America Is Responding!

Thanks to our work in the Philippines responding to previous typhoons Saola, Bopha, and Utor, we are prepared for this latest disaster. PWA’s local partner – the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (CDRC)– is based in Manila with offices throughout the country and is already responding. As in Typhoon Bopha, CDRC is bringing critical supplies to the hardest-hit communities and providing relief packages with rice, beans, dried fish, cooking oil, soap, blankets, and mattresses. PWA and CDRC maintain regular contact in emergencies, providing updates and situation reports. Your gift will support those most impacted by typhoon Haiyan and will be directed to the areas of greatest need.

An Ongoing Commitment to the Philippines

PWA is committed to effective disaster relief, recovery, and preparedness in the Philippines. In addition to our ongoing typhoon response efforts we remain actively involved in preparedness. This December PWA will be hosting a tri-lateral (Philippine-U.S.-Japan) workshop in Tokyo to help strengthen disaster relief among the Philippines, Japan, and the U.S. PWA activities will continue to build partnerships and plan effective response strategies.

Your Donation Is Significant in the Philippines

Please help support vulnerable, disaster-affected populations in the Philippines. Your donation will be put to work immediately providing food, water, shelter, and basic supplies for the men, women, and children who need it most.

Coastal Houses Wash Away (Source: AP)

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Aug 19, 2013
Appeal to help Typhoon Utor affected area

By Mariko Poorman | Project Officer

CDRC Office in Manila

- It’s a typhoon season in the Philippines -

On Aug. 9, the first very strong typhoon of this year - named Utor - reached northern Philippines, resulting in death and destruction. Landslides caused by the heavy rain left many villages in mountain areas isolated. Rockslides, flash floods and storm surge have all been reported.

Many houses and crops were destroyed by the typhoon. The government pegs the total amount of damages at PHP 1.08 billion (about USD $25M). As of now, 84,571 families or 383,540 persons were affected. There were casualties as well -- 8 dead, 7 injured, and 4 missing. The provinces of Aurora and Quirino were declared under a state of calamity.

Currently, the demand for the aid is not being met. There are still many families without any relief support. Please help provide support to the affected families! Your contribution will be directed to CDRC’s ongoing relief effort in northern Luzon.

- Building capacity for disaster preparedness -

The Philippines is vulnerable not only to typhoons and floods, but also to volcanic eruptions as well as earthquakes. This is why PWA and CDRC also focus on disaster preparedness training when we respond to disasters in the area. We work with local community groups and conduct workshops, work with children at emergency shelters, and talk about the importance of the preparedness.

PWA is implementing the 2013-2015 US-Japan-Philippines Civil Military Disaster Preparedness Initiative in order to increase preparedness capabilities/connections/coordination within and among the three disaster prone nations. While in Manila this July, CEO Chuck Aanenson and Program Officer Jon Ehrenfeld visited CDRC Headquarters meeting to discuss how to further enhance the CDRC partnership in both preparedness and response.

- More typhoons will come -

PWA knows this will not be the last typhoon in this season and want to make sure that we can respond quickly when the need arises again. Your contributions to this program will help PWA to take immediate action to dispatch emergency relief support with CDRC and will prepare us for disasters down the road. Generosity during Typhoon Saola last August paid off during the devastation of Typhoon Bopha in December.

Thank you for your continuous support!

Mari Poorman, Project Officer

A family lost their house by Typhoon Utor

Important livelihood lost

A man lost his house

CDRC and PWA working together

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