UNOCHA mobilize preparation for humanitarian assistance on Lawin victims

By Muktar Farah, OCHA Philippines Head of Office

Update as of 21 October 2016: To access the full report, please follow this link:

Makita City, Philippines - Typhoon Haima (locally named Lawin) made landfall in Peñablanca, Cagayan province, at 11 p.m. on 19 October as a Category 4 typhoon with sustained winds of 225 km/h and gusts of up to 315 km/h. After landfall, it quickly downgraded to a Category 3 typhoon, leaving a broad path of debris, damage to homes and buildings, flooding and landslides. 

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), as of 5:00 p.m., 20 October, Typhoon Haima was located 260 km west-northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte province, with maximum sustained winds up to 130 km/h near the centre and gusts up to 160 km/h. It continues to weaken as it moves away from the country and will exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility tonight. 

Estimated rainfall amounts are from moderate to heavy within the 700 km diameter of the typhoon. Sea travel is risky over the northern and eastern seaboards of northern Luzon. Tropical cyclone warning signal (TCWS) number 1 (30-60 km/h winds expected in 24 hours) is in effect for the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Abra. All other tropical cyclone warning signals have been lifted. 

Approximately 90,000 people were pre-emptively evacuated in Regions I, II, II, IV-A, V and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), according to the information available from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). NDRRMC is validating eight reported casualties in Ifugao, Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan provinces. It reports a total of 230 evacuation centres operating in the affected areas, but is confirming the number of people displaced. There are 37 roads in Cagayan and Isabela that are not passable. The initial observation is that Tuguegarao City, where the regional government offices are located, does not have major humanitarian issues at this time. Houses made of concrete have suffered roof damage, but houses made of light materials have been destroyed. 

The Government of the Philippines undertook considerable preparedness activities to mitigate the effects of the typhoon as it approached the country. Local authorities are now leading the relief and debris clearing operations. 5 million People within the 100 km radius of the typhoon track 175,500 People living below the poverty level within the 100 km radius of the typhoon track 21 UN agencies, INGOs, local partners present in the affected area Source: OCHA Philippines The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Philippines Typhoon Haima Situation Report No. 1 | 2 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org 

NDRRMC has requested support from Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), a network of Filipino businesses, to gather more data over the next two days in the most affected areas and to mobilize additional logistic support to transport humanitarian aid. PRC will deploy various vehicles to support debris removal, search and rescue and delivery of relief items. Two PRC assessment and chapter support teams are also on standby at headquarters for dispatch to travel to Abra, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Aurora provinces. PDRF, in partnership with NDRRMC, distributed the relief items, including solar lamps, relief bags, mats, sacks of clothing and towels and bottled water. 

Far East Broadcasting Company-First Response Radio (FRR-FEBC), through its local radio network partner DZMR 1143 AM, is working with the Santiago City government in Isabela, the Region II office of the Philippine Information Agency, local non-government organizations (NGO) and affected communities in a series of humanitarian radio programming. Its broadcast coverage reaches the provinces of Isabela and Aurora, as well as parts of CAR. The radio programme reports on weather updates, ongoing response of the local government and local NGOs on WASH, food distribution, child protection and restoration of communication lines in Isabela and Cagayan. 

The Humanitarian Coordinator has made a written offer of assistance to the Government on 19 October. While the Government has not called for international support at this time, it has made a targeted request for logistical support to WFP using in-country resources to transport food items. Typhoon Haima is the twelfth cyclone to affect the Philippines this year. It followed Typhoon Sarika, which struck central Luzon four days ago. 

Needs Assessments teams composed of Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police based in Tuguegarao City plan to undertake a rapid assessment of Cagayan municipalities on 21 October. OCHA and World Food Programme (WFP) teams on the ground are ready to support this exercise. Also, members of the Philippine International NGO Network are coordinating teams to participate in damage assessments. There are currently 21 organizations in the affected areas conducting needs assessments. Member organizations of the Community Engagement Community of Practice are conducting rapid information communication accountability assessments in Aurora, Cagayan and Isabela. Participating organizations include Action Against Hunger (ACF), CARE, FRR-FEBC, IOM, Oxfam, Peace and Conflict Journalism Network, Save the Children, SkyEye, United Methodist Communications and World Vision. Most clusters are also starting their assessments.

A Camp Coordination and Camp Management team is on its way to Tuguegarao City. From there, the team will survey people displaced in Cagayan, Isabela and Aurora until 23 October. Emergency shelter assessments are also ongoing. The Education cluster is supporting the Department of Education’s assessment of damage to schools over the weekend. FAO will participate this weekend, as well, in an assessment led by the Department of Agriculture of affected farmlands.

The National Nutrition Council has mobilized and is conducting its own assessment of affected areas. It has therapeutic food supplements available for deployment. The Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene clusters report the extensive pre-positioning medicines and medical supplies, as well as aquatabs and other sanitation items. The Protection cluster will determine any need for protection coordination based assessment results, but has a UNHCR team ready to deploy.

Child Protection Working Groups (CPWG) in Region I and CAR have been activated and the Child Protection sub-cluster, in partnership with the Community Engagement Community of Practice, has disseminated key protection messages in the affected areas. Additionally, WFP has pre-positioned emergency telecommunications and logistical assets and equipment, as well as food resources provided by the Australian government. NDRRMC is planning to use the three commercial airports in Laoag City, Tuguegarao City and Cuayan, Isabela, as possible humanitarian distribution hubs in the next two days to augment the response of various affected local government units.

General Coordination, NDRRMC is holding daily response coordination meetings in which OCHA is participating. Philippines Typhoon Haima Situation Report No. 1 | 3 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org , The Humanitarian Country Team and the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group met on 20 October respectively for a situation analysis and to discuss next steps. The Emergency Response Preparedness Working Group, a broader forum for inter-cluster coordination, met on 17 October and reviewed support options that were available.

OCHA, upon the invitation of OCD, deployed two teams to Tuguegarao City on 19 October to facilitate the liaison between the authorities and international organizations. Agencies deploying teams to the affected areas are encouraged to contact OCHA. Humanitarianresponse.info is being used by humanitarian partners to share information about assessments. The Government is using the hashtags #LawinPH for regular updates for this typhoon, as well as standardized hashtags , #ReliefPH, #RescuePH, #FloodPH to monitor requests for assistance.