Philippines: Multiple Tropical Cyclones - Situation Report No. 2 (As of 16 December 2024)

HIGHLIGHTS

• On 5 December, the revised Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) plan was released. The HNP was revisited and updated following the six typhoons that hit the Philippines. The HNP will prioritize and target 535,000 people out of the 2.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance from November 2024 to April 2025. The HNP requires US $42.2 million to implement the priority interventions.

• Over 47,544 people, or 11,599 families, remain displaced across 10 regions due to the combined effects of Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Kristine and Super Typhoon (STY) Leon. On the other hand, tropical cyclones Marce, Nika, Ofel and Pepito displaced more than 10,900 people, or 3,112 families, in seven regions, many of them in northern Luzon.

• Damaged houses increased to 326,562, of which 30,941 were totally damaged (destroyed) and 295,561 partially damaged (repairable). This is due to the combined effects of STS Kristine, STY Leon, Typhoon (TY) Marce, TY Nika, STY Ofel, and STY Pepito as well as effects of the shear line bringing rain over the previously affected areas.

• A staggering 37 per cent increase in families in need of shelter assistance. Families with no access to shelter assistance have no option either to stay in displacement or return to their damaged houses and create makeshift shelters.

• Psychosocial needs remain as some learners and school personnel still experience trauma from the typhoons, affecting their readiness for learning or resumption of classes.

• Some water sources in Camarines Sur have tested positive for E. Coli underscoring the need to address the source of contamination and resupply local governments supply with water test kits and reagents which are fast depleting.

• Data and internet connectivity remain disrupted in Catanduanes, particularly in the municipalities of Caramoan and Pandan.

• Following the last and sixth typhoon, STY Pepito, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) approved an additional US$7.0 million under the Rapid Response window to cover priority sectors like WASH, non-food items (NFIs), emergency shelter, food, protection services for gender-based violence (GBV) and camp coordination and camp management (CCCM). This allocation will cover the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan (Region 2) and Catanduanes and Camarines Norte (Region 5).

• In support of the HNP, financial contributions and/or pledges were received from member states such as the United States, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea (RoK), European Commission’s ECHO, Australia, Canada, Germany and Sweden.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Communities are still recovering from the six successive tropical cyclones that affected the country in less than five weeks, from October to November.

According to the Department of Agriculture (DA) Bulletin 11, the combined effects of the last three typhoons alone – Nikka, Ofel and Pepito- have clearly impacted the main agriculture commodities, namely rice, corn, high value crops, livestock, fisheries and agri-facilities amounting to $13.4 million (PHP785.68 million) affecting at least 34,111 farmers and fisherfolk with approximately 41,078 hectares of agriculture areas and estimated production loss of 30,366 metric tons (MT). While additional damage and losses are still expected to increase, the daily survival of small farmers and fisherfolk and their families is at stake.

Critical gaps persist in shelter especially for families living in areas that have now been declared as No Build Zones (NBZ). As of early December, no resettlement areas have been identified yet by some of the local government units (LGUs) due to unavailability of lands that would be suitable for relocation. For instance, in Lemery, Batangas Province, there are no available lots, which are not within the 14-km radius danger zone of Taal Volcano. Those affected are left in a precarious situation wherein they have resorted to building makeshift shelters in sites where the risk of landslides remains high.

With the typhoon season still active, communities still face persistent risks of flooding and landslides which could result in repeated displacement, loss of lives and livelihoods. Resources are also twice as stretched now as national government authorities are also dealing with the possibility of a magmatic eruption in Mt. Kanlaon in Region 6. On 9 December, Mt. Kanlaon released a massive ash plume and its strongest eruption in recent years. More than 85,000 individuals were displaced in the permanent danger zones (PDZ).

On 12 December, the Resident Coordinator/ Humanitarian Coordinator, Gustavo Gonzalez, led a high-level visit to the Office of Civil Defence (OCD). This was participated in by two Ambassadors and three key officials from member states like Norway, the European Union, Untied States, United Kingdom and Australia. The visit provided the delegation with a firsthand perspective on the OCD’s critical role in coordinating the disaster response to the recent series of tropical cyclones that hit the country and served as a platform to reaffirm international solidarity. This is part of the continued efforts to up the visibility for the response to the six typhoons that hit the country in 25 days, between October and November.