The official death toll from Typhoon Haiyan has passed 4,000 with another 1,600 people missing and over 18,000 injured. An estimated 4 million people in the Philippines have been displaced from their homes, many of them in evacuation centres. Based on rapid assessment results, ChildFund is focusing our emergency response in some of the hardest-hit areas.
In Ormoc City, the entire population of about 100,000 families has been affected. About 95% of houses are severely damaged. The most pressing needs are food, safe drinking water and tarpaulins to keep rain out of structures until they can be permanently repaired. Schools are not expected to reopen for another two months. ChildFund has established Child-Centred Spaces in three evacuation centres, providing safe spaces for children to gather, play and receive trauma support, and 1,000 packs of food items have been distributed.
In Roxas City, the entire city sustained heavy damage from the typhoon, affecting more than 12,000 people, including 5,000 children. Hundreds of families have been displaced and are living in evacuation centres. ChildFund staff have noted that many people only stay at evacuation centres at night; during the day they return to their homes and try to rebuild with whatever materials they can find. Child-Centred Spaces have been set up in two areas. A second batch of food and non-food items (1,000 packs each) have been distributed.
Tacloban bore the brunt of the typhoon, with hundreds of people killed and the city decimated, but its survivors are beginning to pick up the pieces as aid pours in. There are now three functioning hospitals and, according to UN OCHA, the city’s water supply is operational. Earlier this week, a ChildFund emergency team arrived in Tacloban and conducted a rapid assessment with other aid agencies. ChildFund has since begun establishing a presence in the largest evacuation centre, a school, where one of two Child-Centred Spaces will be set up.
Bantayan Island is home to more than 20,000 families, all of whom have been affected. Residents of coastal and islet villages are finding it difficult to return to normal life. Fishing boats were damaged and seaweed farms have been wiped out. It will take months and considerable capital outlay to rehabilitate. Some food packs have been distributed by the local government. More food and non-food items are needed, particularly hygiene kits and tarpaulins that can serve as temporary shelters. 2,000 packs of relief goods from ChildFund will be distributed this week. Classes have resumed, but only a handful of students are coming to school. It appears that most students are not yet ready for regular classes. Students and teachers need debriefing and trauma support. ChildFund has established Child-Centred Spaces to help slowly facilitate children`s transition back to the classroom. Another mobile Child-Centred Space will be established to reach children under 5 years old. [Photo credit: ChildFund]
In Palo and Tolosa, two municipalities in Leyte province, more than 1,400 families are currently living at 35 evacuation centres. Over 1,000 people in Palo are confirmed dead with another 300 still missing. Both areas are without electricity and communication is limited. Relief goods are being provided by the national government as well as aid agencies, but transporting these goods to affected families is proving to be a challenge. ChildFund is establishing Child-Centred Spaces in both areas to provide trauma support and activities for children.
UNICEF has recognised that ChildFund was the first international aid organisation to establish child protection mechanisms through our Child-Centred Spaces. We are also conducting child registration in all Child-Centred Spaces so we can identify if there are children who have been separated from their family, abandoned or orphaned.
As the ferry from Cebu pulls into Ormoc, the devastation is unbelievable. Buildings and houses have been flattened, electricity pylons blown down, cars turned over, palm trees ripped apart. As I disembark, people walk towards me holding out their hand and asking for food. I notice the long lines of people desperate to board the ferry back to Cebu as many try to leave.
My first visit is to the coastal community of Naungan. Children are on the streets, fetching water, looking for food or just hanging around doing nothing.
I meet Sunny, a barefoot 13-year-old ChildFund-sponsored boy. He tells me his story: “I was in the school (evacuation centre) with my family when the storm hit. The wind was furious and howling. The noise was deafening. It went on for hours. It was dark outside and the school was shaking. I was very scared. Everyone was screaming and crying and praying. I could hear houses being smashed away and I thought the school would be next. When the storm ended, we went outside and could not believe the destruction. It was the end of the world. We’re lucky to be alive.”
This coastal community is badly destroyed. Like in other parts of Ormoc, 90% of houses have been completely blown away. There is no electricity and this is likely to be the case for the next 4 months. All schools are closed and are being used as evacuation centres for the thousands who no longer have homes to return to.
Everywhere I go, people are going hungry and asking for food. There is a huge need for rice, a staple of the Filipino diet. Noodles and canned food are also needed. Food aid is only just reaching Ormoc, albeit slowly.
I head back into town. There are long lines of people waiting for fuel and food, adding to the chaos. People are also trying to withdraw cash. As I walk along the crowded main street littered with debris, a voice calls out: “Hey, ChildFund.” I turn to see a young woman. It turns out she recognised my green t-shirt. Michelle, 18, is sponsored through ChildFund. She tells a similar story to Sunny. Her house has been badly destroyed and her dad is desperately looking for construction materials to fix it. There is a huge need for roof tarpaulins and plastic sheeting in Ormoc as the rain continues to come down, making living conditions miserable. Pneumonia and flu are already major concerns, particularly among children.
Manny, also sponsored through ChildFund, has lost everything. He shows me his house in the area of San Isidro, where 144 children are sponsored through ChildFund. “This is my house. This is how I found it after the storm. Everything is lost, everything!”
ChildFund understands that children are particularly vulnerable in disaster situations. Many are wandering the streets of Ormoc unaccompanied while their parents look for food. They have lost their sense of security and their world has been turned upside down. The need for trauma support is great.
On Friday, ChildFund opened its first Child-Centred Space in Ormoc. These are safe havens for children to come together, take part in children’s activities and for a few hours forget the typhoon and be children again.
114 children of all ages came to play, draw and sing. For the first time since the typhoon hit, smiles appeared on their faces. ChildFund also provides food. These activities help children deal with trauma and help them rebuild their lives.
In the longer term, there will be a huge need for shelter and rebuilding livelihoods. But local officials and communities fear Ormoc will be overlooked and aid will bypass them because of more pressing needs in nearby Tacloban.
In the meantime, it continues to rain and it’s getting dark, hampering relief operations. The people of Ormoc are bracing themselves for another uncomfortable night. For thousands of children like Sunny, Michelle and Manny, it means going to bed hungry, sleeping in damp conditions and reliving the nightmare of one week ago.
