Analysis:

The Philippines is on the front line of climate change and its coastal population is already experiencing greater intensity and frequency of adverse weather, including tropical cyclones and typhoons. The country has experienced an abnormally high number of serious typhoons over the past few years, many of which occurred outside of the traditional typhoon season and in areas previously unaffected. With each successive storm, exponential damage to infrastructure, habitat and livelihoods, as well as other factors such as more frequent internal displacement, makes affected populations even more vulnerable.

IOM – in the Philippines and elsewhere – has increased its disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness programming in direct response to this new reality. In addition to coordinating services for displaced populations as a result of natural disasters, it has become increasingly involved in activities aiming to reduce the risk of displacement. This includes training for partner governments, physical risk reduction through mitigation projects, enhancement of cyclone evacuation systems, community-based disaster risk reduction programmes, development of early warning systems, identification of hazards and other related activities. IOM applies this approach from the policy level to operational support before, during and immediately following emergencies.

These activities form part of IOM’s disaster risk reduction and preparedness programme, involving physical risk mitigation, community based disaster risk reduction and hazard identification and mapping. These activities complement ongoing recovery programs, including support to displaced populations, shelter, protection and other activities. 

Bradley Mellicker
IOM Philippines

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Philippines - A new report by IOM in the Philippines shows that the country is critically short of evacuation shelters in some of the most typhoon-vulnerable parts of the country. The shelter survey – conducted on Samar Island, five months after it was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan – paints an alarming picture, with a new typhoon season fast approaching.

Of the 634 buildings (schools, churches, community centres, etc.) designated by the government as safe evacuation shelters prior to Haiyan, only eight per cent remain standing. Over 400 other buildings need significant rehabilitation before they can be used, whilst a quarter were completely destroyed, says the report, conducted by IOM’s office in Guiuan, where Haiyan made its first landfall on 8th November 2013.

There have been four cyclones since then, with last week’s tropical depression Domeng petering out before coming ashore. However, each storm serves as a grim warning of just how vulnerable the Philippines is to extreme weather events.

“The results of this assessment show how crucial it is for IOM to prioritize disaster risk reduction and preparedness systems in high-risk areas, including the strengthening of typhoon evacuation systems,” said Marco Boasso, IOM’s Chief of Mission in the Philippines. “This is how we can best support the government and the general population. Right now, even something half the strength of Haiyan would have a massive impact.”

The damage to evacuation centres and the consequent limited options for evacuation adds to the heightened vulnerability resulting from extreme damage to housing. Additionally, the loss of millions of trees, which previously mitigated the effects of high winds, leaves people more exposed. Community recovery is also being hampered by the loss of livelihoods in many sectors.

Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, added: “As witnessed by the smaller typhoons of early 2014, the number of people needing to evacuate to public shelters has dramatically increased compared to before Haiyan, but at the same time the vast majority of those shelters are no longer usable. The government, IOM and some other actors are rehabilitating and reconstructing some of these buildings, but the scale and speed of this work needs to increase dramatically.”

IOM’s disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness work includes support to evacuation systems, including assisting local governments in the identification of alternative evacuation sites, rehabilitation and reconstruction of evacuation infrastructure, equipping evacuation centres, training local authorities and vulnerable populations, and assisting in actual evacuations.

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More information is available at: http://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/migrated_files/Country/docs/IOM-…

For more information please contact

Bradley Mellicker
IOM Philippines
Email: bmellicker@iom.int
Tel: +63 926 724 5776