Humanitarian organizations on Monday called for continued assistance for Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) survivors amid a rise in dengue infections in typhoon-hit affected areas.

“We hope the newly elected chief executives could continue efforts in helping households and communities affected by Super typhoon Odette as there are still so many things that need to be done almost 6 months since the typhoon devastated the Philippines. Reports showed rising numbers of dengue cases in typhoon-affected areas in Visayas and Mindanao while there are also not enough health workers tending to COVID-19 response and other essential health services,” said Oxfam Pilipinas Country Director Lot Felizco.

According to the May 26 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report, dengue cases rose in Southern Leyte and Caraga. News reports also mentioned an increase in dengue cases in Central Visayas with the Cebu City Health Department quoted as saying it’s possibly due to the widespread flooding caused by Super typhoon Odette and Tropical Storm Agaton.

A Center for Health Development – CARAGA dengue surveillance report shared with Oxfam Pilipinas showed that 867 dengue cases were reported from January 1 to May 14, 2022. This is 287.1% higher compared to the same period last year.

“Local health officials have warned earlier this year that Super typhoon Odette could trigger a rise in dengue infections as flooded areas become breeding grounds of mosquitos. And that’s what we are seeing now. In Caraga, we’re seeing a steep rise in dengue cases in Surigao and Dinagat Islands, which are also among the most affected by Super typhoon Odette,” Felizco said.

CARE’s Integrated Risk Management Director Celso Dulce said this is why civil society and government should continue supporting the typhoon survivors.

CONTINUED DISPLACEMENT

“As a Category 5 tropical cyclone, Super typhoon Odette’s destruction really affected a large population — 12 million people in 10 regions in the country. While the death toll is fortunately not as high as Super typhoon Haiyan’s in 2013, it deeply affected the livelihood and living conditions of survivors,” said Dulce.

Oxfam Pilipinas and CARE Philippines are among the groups that have received additional 10 million euros in funding from the European Union Humanitarian Aid (EU Aid) to facilitate life-saving assistance and rehabilitation efforts in Super typhoon Odette-hit areas.

Part of the funding (5.8 million euros or P326 million) will be used to provide food security and livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, health, education in emergencies, protection assistance, and other services to more than 300,000 individuals in Bohol, Cebu, Dinagat Islands, Southern Leyte, Negros Occidental, and Palawan through a project implemented by CARE, ACCORD Inc., National Rural Women’s Coalition, Plan International, and Action Against Hunger.

Another EU AID-funded project (worth 3.8 million Euros or P214 million) led by Oxfam Pilipinas and jointly implemented by Save the Children and Humanity & Inclusion (HI), together with local partners SIKAT and IDEALS, aim to provide shelter and education support, protection activities and other in-kind assistance to more than 115,000 Typhoon Odette survivors in Bohol, Southern Leyte and Surigao del Norte.

Despite such efforts, CARE Philippines said more assistance is needed in remote areas as survivors have received little or no support due to geographical and humanitarian barriers. This makes it even harder to recover from the multiple impacts of the super typhoon.

Six months since the typhoon devastated parts of the Philippines and almost 7,000 people are still displaced in Regions VI, VII, VIII, MIMAROPA, and Caraga, according to UN OCHA. Majority of them are in evacuation centers and around 650 are staying with relatives or friends in nearby villages. The report also noted that there has been a decline in food and nutrition support for displaced families as response activities are now winding down.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY 6 MONTHS ON

The non-government organizations are also concerned about livelihood recovery for the affected population.

“There is still debris in the agricultural lands due to fallen coconut trees which have not been cleared and are already decomposing 6 months after the typhoon. Plots of land are left unusable, making it hard for families who rely on farming,” said Action Against Hunger Philippines Country Director, Suresh Murugesu. He further added, “in other areas where we work, many fisherfolks whose boats were damaged by the typhoon are still not able to return to fishing as their main source of income.” 

Some areas like Siargao Island are already setting their sights on reviving local tourism. “We welcome such efforts and we hope this will spur local economic growth that is very much needed, as many lost their livelihoods due to Typhoon Odette. Besides farmers losing their harvest and crops, many tourism workers were also suddenly left jobless,” said Chito Dugan, Executive Director of Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya Inc. (SIKAT Inc.).

Meanwhile in Southern Leyte, Plan International Philippines has encountered some families who have decided to invest their relief funds to restart the local economy. Because the financial aid they received from the government was not enough to cover the costs for repairing their houses, some families in the area have decided to use these funds to restart their small businesses which were wiped out by the typhoon.

MENTAL HEALTH TOLL

There are also other forms of assistance that are needed such as psycho-social and mental health care services. According to UN OCHA, many adolescents and young people are ‘in great distress’ after their experience during Super typhoon Odette and Tropical Storm Agaton, which resulted in landslides last April.

The Oxfam Pilipinas, Save the Children and Humanity & Inclusion project supported by EU AID, provides mental health and psychosocial support training at the community level with HI as technical lead. Some of the psychosocial sessions aim to help teachers who are still recovering from the impact of the typhoon.

Felizco said it’s also important to note that the Philippines will have to brace for more intense typhoons. “As we commemorated World Environment Day last June 5, we hope government would hasten the shift to renewable energy. The continued carbon emissions will only worsen the impacts of climate change, resulting in more catastrophic typhoons,” said Felizco, who explained that warmer ocean temperatures have resulted in more intense typhoons.

Through EU AID funding, the organizations have been able to provide cash assistance, shelter repair materials, training sessions and educational support to the affected communities. The Oxfam Pilipinas-led project also involves provision of teaching supplies and multi-purpose learnings spaces in schools, among other forms of support. However, much still needs to be done to help those who are still displaced and the rest who are still reeling from the physical, economic, emotional and psychological damage wrought by the disaster, the groups said.

Manila, Philippines, 21 December, 2021 – As Typhoon Rai (Odette) hits southern and central Philippines, the impact of local disaster preparedness and mitigation measures shows the importance of planning for climate shocks amidst a worsening global climate crisis. However, despite these pre-emptive measures, the country’s strongest storm of the year still leaves widescale devastation in its path.

Communication lines remain down in the hardest hit areas. The number of people affected continues to rise, with over 1.8 million people now in need, more than 600,000 displaced in cramped and damp evacuation camps, and almost 375 casualties. Heavy rains caused floods and storm surges that reached up to 6 ft in some areas with landslides blocking major roads and highways and destroying hospitals and airports.

Ansherina Talavera, CARE Philippines Program Manager says; “We are looking at a major humanitarian crisis. We are seeing hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and roads and power lines have been washed away. Over 28,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 29,000 schools have been damaged. In some areas, power is not expected to return for at least a month. Access to some of the worst affected areas, particularly remote islands, remains a big concern due to destroyed private and public sea vessels.”

The main needs include access to everyday essentials that were washed away by the typhoon, such as food and key household items, including equipment for cooking hot meals, as well as clean, safe drinking water. Temporary shelter for those who have been displaced is also a critical need, along with medical and hygiene kits, particularly in island communities that are hard to reach, even in normal circumstances.

A fisherman mentioned to the CARE assessment team, “While we want and can go out to sea to fish for our food, we can’t leave our families back on the island without shelter over their heads.”

CARE’s local partner ACCORD shares their experience on the ground, “The local government has no seacraft. All of them are damaged. Not one house was left standing. No assistance has arrived. The people have nothing to eat. If there is a word that can describe worse than worst, that is the situation.”

David Gazashvili, CARE Philippines Country Director says; “The level of devastation caused by the typhoon is truly heart breaking. We are seeing Haiyan-esque levels of destruction. From the places our teams and partners have reached, 80-90% of houses have sustained heavy damage.”

The Philippines has also been one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 virus in the Asia-Pacific region. The country has recorded over 2.8 million cases and more than 50,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. In the past few days, it also saw its first reported cases of the new Omicron variant. This has added strain on public services, local communities and humanitarian agencies in-country, weakening people’s capacity and ability to respond to humanitarian disasters.

CARE has already begun providing key life-saving assistance in more than twenty communities in Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Suridao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, and Southern Leyte. CARE Philippines and partners, with support from the Philippine Coast Guard and City Social Welfare Office of Surigao City, have been the first to reach communities in the outlying islands of Danawan, where staff report that everything has been washed away and people have yet to receive any form of humanitarian assistance since the typhoon hit. CARE is working with partners both local and international to ensure these island communities are provided aid as soon as possible.

Alongside local and coalition partners, CARE plans to provide those affected with food supplies, water, sanitation and hygiene kits as well as other key household items, including solar lamps, as power remains down across many of the affected areas. CARE is looking to raise US $20 million to support those most affected by this latest typhoon.

Gazashvili notes; “Once people have received immediate life-saving assistance, we will also need to look at longer term rebuilding and support. Sadly, the Philippines is becoming all too used to these terrible seasonal storms that cause such devastation. We know from Typhoon Haiyan that recovery from this kind of natural disaster can take years.”

He adds; “Despite all the extensive mitigation measure put in place, people’s homes, and livelihoods have still been destroyed and the needs remain huge. On top of this, we are also expecting more rains and a storm over 24th and 25th December as new weather systems are forming over the Pacific. We are once again asking donors to step up and assist and not forget the people of the Philippines in their time of need.”

Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Dec 15, 2021 – Typhoon Rai is expected to make landfall on Thursday, December 16 with a maximum wind speed of 150 km/h – affecting more than five regions including Northern Mindanao, Caraga, Eastern Visayas, Bicol, and Southern Luzon. CARE and local partner ACCORD are preparing and working closely with local governments to respond as needed. 

CARE and ACCORD are currently implementing disaster preparedness projects in the provinces of Misamis Oriental,  Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur, in Mindanao where TY Rai is set to hit. 

“Our work on disaster preparedness and resilience together with local governments units (LGUs) from the barangay level to the provincial level for the past months will be put into action in preparation for TY Rai,” Ansherina Talavera, CARE Program Manager , mentioned. “The Alternative Temporary Shelters (ATS) we designed together with our partners LGUs are being arranged for expected evacuations.” 

Local government units are undertaking preparedness actions based on recently updated contingency plans and rapid response protocols, including COVID19 minimum health standards, for the possible onslaught of the typhoon. Coordination meetings and inventory of prepositioned goods, equipment, and rescue vehicles are also being accomplished by LGUs. Pre-emptive evacuations are also under way for the most at risk areas in the said provinces.  

CARE and ACCORD’s initiatives on resilience building continue to increase capacities of local governments within Mindanao to anticipate hazards, respond to crisis, and address the effects of climate change.  

“Countries like the Philippines have suffered the brunt of the strongest typhoons ever recorded in this decade. Climate change is expected to worsen the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as typhoons. CARE is working with at risk communities in the Philippines who are the hardest hit by disasters and climate change,” shares Mary Joy Gonzales, CARE Philippines’s Climate Change Representative. 

“CARE and partners are monitoring the situation. We are ready to conduct assessments and respond as needed, while ensuring staff and partners have proper protective equipment and follow local health protocols,” said David Gazashvili, CARE Philippines Country Director. 

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About CARE in the Philippines  

CARE has been working in the Philippines since 1949, helping communities prepare for disasters, and providing emergency relief and recovery when disaster strikes.  CARE has ongoing programs across the Philippines, including in the areas affected by Typhoon Rai.