ACTED Assessment Report: and Provinces: , , and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

ACTED Assessment Report:

Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces Lawaan, Bisey and Marabot Municipalities

21 st November 2013

ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013 1. Overview and Methodology

ACTED has been one of the main leading agencies conducting MIRA assessments across Samar and Eastern Samar on behalf of OCHA.

ACTED has conducted level assessments in Lawaan, Bisey and Marabot Municipalities under the MIRA framework, followed up by further in depth visits to each municipality, including more detailed discussions with municipal leaders, Bangaray officials and local communities in order to further identify the priority needs, identify key stakeholders and make a comprehensive analysis of the security situation.

The MIRA (Multi Cluster and Initial Rapid Assessment) assessment in Lawaaan, Bisey and Marabot was undertaken by ACTED alone, but was part of the wider MIRA bringing together clusters/sectors around one agreed methodology so that data collection, collation, processing and analysis are aligned into a single process. The country-level inter-cluster coordination mechanism is responsible for leading this assessment.

The analysis of the MIRA assessment, coupled together with ACTED’s follow up meetings with key local stakeholders identified the following priority

Figure 1: Marabut Town needs across all three municipalities. 1. Shelter- 100% of Barangay officials reported roof materials as the primary emergency shelter need of their respective communities. 2. Food Assistance and Livehoods- The majority of Barangay officials reported that their communities had lost their core livelihoods as a result of Yolanda and 100% of officials reported that the food consumption of their communities had decreased somewhat or significantly since the Typhoon. 3. Disruption of local infrastructure- 100% of Barangay officials highlighted that their respective local schools had been severely damaged and priortised school repair as a primary need.

2. Affected Provinces

Eastern Samar ACTED conducted MIRA assessments across the majority of Easter Samar including the municipalities of: , General McArthur, , , Hernani, Lawaan, , Mercedes, and Salcedo. The coastal municipalities of Eastern Samar along the southern and southeastern coast are the most highly affected with between 80-100% total shelter destruction across these municipalities. The affected population in these 10 municipalities amounts to approximately 140,000 people 1, about 32% of the entire population of Eastern Samar.

1 Source: Barangay chairmen, Provincial authorities and 2010 Census data ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

The overall assessment of Eastern Samar has highlighted the critical needs as shelter and WASH with an impending need for further food inputs once the government and private food donations are exhausted. In all highly affected municipalities, the only structures still standing are the public buildings and the concrete homes concentrated in the municipal centers. In nearly all cases, however, the roof of these structures is non-existent. The structures built of timber and coco lumber are nearly all uninhabitable, yet people have begun to repair with salvaged materials from the debris.

Shelter As mentioned above, the most highly affected municipalities exhibit 80-100% total shelter destruction. Despite this, most people have returned to their original house to begin repairs from salvaged material with a smaller number living with host families or relatives. Guiuan is the only highly affected municipality in which a significant number of individuals still reside in evacuation centers (6 evacuation centers with under 300 people). The main concern, as voiced by barangay officials, is that people are forced to live in high affected or damaged houses. Secondary concerns include overcrowding of existing shelters and the lack of temporary or semi-permanent shelters. Nearly across the board, barangay officials expressed the need for roofing materials, as most people are interested in returning to their previous house.

WASH Protected sources such as deep wells and boreholes with hand pumps constitute the majority of water sources in Eastern Samar. Municipal piped water exists in all municipal centers, but is not operational due to lack of fuel and damage to pumps in the municipal water systems. The water from these sources are not considered to be potable and nearly all barangay officials indicated that people are boiling the water due to contamination. Some humanitarian agencies have begun rehabilitating and treating municipal water as well as introducing filtration systems for other sources. Despite the lack of quality potable water, water Figure 2: Marabut Town shortages are not an issue at the moment.

Sanitation in all municipalities is a critical concern and major gap at the moment. While some individuals have access to pre-existing toilets in urban centers, the majority do not and almost all rural areas are without sanitation facilities. 70-100% of individuals, in average, are reported as openly defecating. Facilities for toilets and bathing are reported as a critical concern for women, particularly. No known sanitation interventions are known at the moment, yet hygiene kits have been distributed in Guiuan.

Health The main health concerns reported by barangay chairmen included fever and respiratory issues with secondary symptoms of diarrhea and skin disease. In nearly all assessed areas, the health facilities have been completely destroyed and/or are operating at a critically low level. Health provision is currently fairly well covered by international health organizations, the national government and local medical missions. Rehabilitation of existing health facilities, staffing and medication are impending critical needs. ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

Food Security At the moment, 100% of the affected population has access to food stocks from the local government, private donations and some international sources distributed by the US Military. WFP began distributing in the western-most municipalities of Eastern Samar as well as the islands of Guiuan municipality. Continued food provision is an impending critical need as local government and private donation food sticks begin to dwindle. Barangay chairmen report that the current rations last 1-2 days for each family and requires households to limit their meals to twice daily. Consistent with this impending need is the barangay chairmen nearly across the board noting their main concern as running out of existing food stocks. The lack of open markets/shops and cooking facilities were secondary concerns with the lack of cash being a tertiary concern at the moment given the relative lack of available food for purchase.

Rice for purchase is available in very limited quantities in some of the most highly affected municipalities with a 65-100% increase in the price per kilogram. In some cases, camote, cassava and

Figure 3: Basey Municipality gabi are available at the household level for sharing or trade, but these are not available for purchase in large quantities, as the crops were largely destroyed as a result of the typhoon.

Livelihoods Fishing is by far the most practiced livelihood in Eastern Samar with farming and small trade as distant secondary sources. Production of copa (dried coconut for oil production) was also mentioned as a common income sources. All of these livelihoods have been critically affected by the typhoon with nearly 100% of all crops (standing and plantation) and fishing equipment completely destroyed in the most highly affected municipalities. The most commonly reported need for livelihood rehabilitation is the provision of fishing and crop inputs such as boats, nets and seedlings. Land degradation or damage was not a serious concern for farmers, as the land remains suitable for planting.

Mass Communication Communication is an extremely critical gap, as the only functioning cell network exists in Guiuan with very limited range. Without functioning communication networks, individuals have been unable to reach family members for updates on their situation following the typhoon and information is not easily disseminated by municipal governments about distributions or other critical information. Barangay chairmen expressed distress about not knowing the current situation or whether assistance was on its way.

Education ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

Nearly all schools in the most affected municipalities have been damaged and none are currently holding classes. Guiuan is the only location assessed in which any school was still being used as an evacuation center. In urban barangays, 90-100% of girls and 70-100% of boys attended school before the typhoon. In rural areas, the range was larger with 80-100% of girls and 60-100% of boys attending schools, according to barangay chairmen. The most commonly reported education need was the provision of school materials and repairing of damaged school buildings with the secondary response of establishing temporary learning spaces.

Nutrition Across the board, none of the existing nutrition programs of the government nor any other nutrition intervention was reported as being currently active. Health actors may be providing this care on an ad hoc basis, but this could not be verified at the time of this update.

Protection The two most commonly reported protection concerns were the lack of adequate communication between family members and the loss of legal documents as a result of the typhoon. No other protection issues were reported as major concerns in any of the municipalities assessed.

Samar

Shelter Municipalities in the coastal region of Samar were those most damaged during Yolanda, with Barangay officials reporting between 90% - 100% partial or total damage. The majority of total damage was sustained to Figure 4: Slaughter House, Norther n shelters made of light materials (such as timber or nippa palm) whilst the majority of partial damage was sustained to shelter made form concrete / masonry. Inland municipalities, such as , sustained the least damage with between 40% and 80% of shelters unaffected by Yolanda. Basey was the only municipality located in the coastal region of Sammar where a large number of the population was reported to still be resident in evacuation centers.

The most prevalent concerns raised by Barangay officials with regards to meeting the immediate shelter needs of their respective communities were; a lack of temporary shelters and a limited community capacity to house affected individuals. In every Barangay selected for assessment the primary or secondary concern for rebuilding existing shelters was a lack of access to roofing materials.

WASH The majority of municipalities assessed reported that protected water sources, such as hand pumped deep wells, provided the primary source of water. While piped water networks in the municipal centers existed prior to Yolanda, the majority are non-operational at present as a result of extensive damage to the network and a lack of fuel to power ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013 pumping stations. In 35% of Barangay selected for assessment officials reported available in the community as being non-potable; all of which are located in the coastal region of Sammar.

Regarding sanitation practices, in the majority of cases Barangay officials reported that residents were currently practicing open defecation as a result of a lack of suitable facilities. In Marabout Municipality between 25% and 65% of residents were reported to currently be practicing open defecation. Additionally, in the worst affected urban Barangay in Santa Rita Municipality (Bokinggan) 90% of residents were reported by Barangay officials to be practicing open defecation at the time of the assessment. Accessing sanitation facilities (toilets and bathing spaces) was noted to be a more significant for females than males. In Bassey, Marabout and Lassam municipal and barangay level authorities reported that for informal coastal communities open defecation had been a pre-existing high-risk practice with poor access to latrine structures.

Health The primary or secondary health concern reported by Barangay officials in Sammar was infected wounds, diarrhea and fever. Additionally, in a considerable proportion of Barangay skin diseases, physical injuries, and respiratory problems were reported as primary or secondary health concerns.

Food Security At the time of assessment Barangay officials in the majority of municipalities reported that food stocks were accessible by between 80% and 100% of the population; with available food stocks expected to last between 0.5 and 10 days. In Calbiga Municipality a stark difference in access to food stocks was observed between urban and rural areas. In Urban areas Figure 5: Lawaan Municiaplity food stocks were reported to be accessible by 80% of the population, compared to between 20% and 30% in rural areas. With regards to levels of consumption, in the majority of Barangay selected for assessment officials reported that the amount of food consumed by the population had either decreased somewhat or significantly as a result of Yolanda.

When asked about their primary concerns regarding accessibility of sufficient food locally; the most predominant concern voiced was the sufficiency of food stocks to meet the needs of the population. Additionally, the lack of access to food in local markets was selected as a secondary concern by a large proportion of Barangay officials.

Livelihoods The predominant livelihoods activities identified in the Barangay selected for assessment were fishing and farming. As a result of Yolanda in the majority of Yolanda the aforementioned primary livelihoods were reported to have been either moderately or highly affected; with up to 100% of crops and fishing equipment damaged as a result of Yolanda. ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

When asked regarding the predominant needs for livelihood recovery, the majority of Barangay officials reported either farming of fishing inputs as the primary need.

Mass Communication Cell phone network coverage at the time of assessment was extremely limited. In areas where there was intermittent cell coverage, notably some municipalities of Marabut, populations were still unable to communicate with relatives outside the municipality as a result of the lack of electricity. While radio was accessible in a small number of Barangay in the targeted municipalities, newspapers, television, and the internet were reported to be non-functional in all Barangay assessed. Lack of ability to communicate, and a lack of available information, was voiced as key frustrations by Barangay officials.

Education Nearly all schools in Barangays in the targeted municipalities were reported by officials to have been totally destroyed during Yolanda; additionally no schools were conducting classes at the time of assessment. Both damaged and undamaged schools were reported by Barangay officials as being evacuation centers; hosting households with totally damaged shelters and no relatives to host them. The most commonly reported education need as repairs to school facilities. Additionally, in a considerable proportion of Barangays a need for temporary learning spaces and school materials was reported.

Nutrition In almost all municipalities none of the regular nutritional programs, normally delivered at the Barangay or Municipal level, were operational at the time of assessment. Where nutritional programs were operational, it was reported by Barangay officials that they were being delivered by international medical missions.

Protection Serious protection issues were only identified in a small minority of Barangay in the target municipalities. Where they were identified by Barangay officials the reported protection concerns were; a lack of adequate communications, a breakdown of law and order (i.e. looting of shops), and the lack of arrangements for the remains of the deceased.

ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

3. Affected Municipalities:

Population Overview

Name of Name of Total Total Total Total Total Total Total number Total Priority province Municipality number of number of number of population population number of of partially number needs people males females under the aged 60 or households damaged of totally (1,2,3) age of 18 over houses damaged houses

Samar Lawaan 11,612 6,112 5,500 6,038 1,742 2,471 (57%) (43%) Shelter, (13,523) Livelihoods (3,219) Food, school clearance

Eastern Marabut 10,581 5,570 5,011 5,572 1,587 2,251 (48%) (47%) Shelter, Samar Food, (15,946) (4,539) Kitchen, Health, school clearance

Eastern Basey 35,296 18579 16,718 18,586 5,294 7,510 (30%) (67%) Shelter, Samar Livelihoods (no data (7,875) , food, from school municipality) clearance

NOTE: 2010 disaggregated census data has not been released to local government as yet. With the complete devastation of local government and municipal level facilities, all hard-copy records have been destroyed, this also applies to Rural Health Unit records. In this exceptional circumstance, surveying of disaster-affected communities has been undertaken to collect primary information. Demographic data presented in is estimates based on key informant interviews (all levels of government, rural health clinics, schools where possible, and barangay level assessments). This data will be validated in the coming days, in particular for targeted barangays.

Secondary data reports are available for number of affected persons and shelters. Most recent data from the municipalities directly report higher rates of impact, as outlined in the figures in brackets in the table above.

General Overview

The impact of the typhoon in all three municipalities of Lawaan, Marabot and Basay has been significant as they were some of first affected areas by the storm. Along the southern coast of Samar Island, including the three target municipalities, all areas of the municipalities have been severely affected by the typhoon. Impact varies slightly and ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013 either involves severe wind damage or severe wind damage and storm surge. ACTED intends to target Barangays in the coastal regions most affected by the typhoon, for municipalities such as Marabut, where all the Barangays are coastal- this has led to complete devastation among all communities. There still remain hundreds of bodies, as yet unidentified across these three areas as well as a number of missing and injured people.

Primary needs identified by key stakeholders and through assessments undertaken by ACTED field teams have identified: shelter, immediate cash assistance until livelihoods recuperate, food assistance, kitchen kits, blankets, and WASH items.

Shelter

Communities living in low coastal lying areas are the most severely impacted with complete destruction of shelters, livelihoods and community infrastructure. In areas slightly higher or further from the coastline, damage is predominately from severe winds – resulting in combination of complete and partial destruction of shelter and community infrastructure, and complete destruction of coconut plantations and other agricultural activities.

Households have started to construct temporary shelters or rebuild shelters predominately using recycled material obtained from debris. Some local donations of chain saws and hammers were observed. In addition, in particular in Lawaan and Marabut there is wide scale destruction of coconut plantations (one primary livelihood in the areas). As a result, there is potential for coco lumber to be available. Given that most coastal communities are informal settlements it is unclear whether private property owners are going to enable access to this materials for reconstruction. As such, it seems that coastal communities who have experienced 100% destruction may be the least likely to access critical materials for reconstruction and will require shelter assistance (both temporary and transitional). Carpentry and construction skills exist in the community, and skills audits are underway to determine local workforce capacity. In addition, household level latrines are also a critical requirement.

100% of the Barangays assessed reported that their main shelter need was roof repair. According to community members, specific shelter needs include:

- Tarpaulin

- Corrugated iron sheeting

- Umbrella nails

- Construction tools

- Coconut wood (local resources available)

- Carpentry services

In addition, in some areas (especially where Figure 6: Basay Municipality debris clearing is required for resettlement and relocation plans are being activated by the local government) tents are the preference.

Food Assistance and Livelihoods ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

The majority of communities assessed are heavily dependent on rice production and fishing as a primary source of income and as a result of the typhoon have had whole means of livelihoods wiped out. In the sample Barangays that were assessed, every single household was reported to have been affected by Yolanda, with higher percentages of displaced population in Basay and Marabut. Initial indications show that communities in Lawaan and Marabut are beginning to be burdened by hosting other displaced community members. Across 100% of the communities assessed, Barangay officials reported that the amount of food consumed by their respective communities had decreased somewhat or significantly as a result of Yolanda. Neither rice, cassava, gabi nor comote was reported to be available in local markets at the time of assessment. Among the major concerns raised by officials was the lack of food stocks, which were reported to be seriously depleted or near non-existent at the time of assessment, with shops and markets non-functional following the typhoon. The three municipalities, being coastal regions depend heavily on the fishing industry as the main source of livelihoods for entire communities. More inland, communities are subsistence farmers and rely on crop production and agriculture as their sole income. The assessments showed that across all three municipalities both primary and secondary livelihoods had been severely affected. Across the three areas, Barangay officials reported that 50-100% of crops had been destroyed during the typhoon additionally losses to livestock were reported to range between 85-100%. On top of this, across the three municipalities Barangay officials reported that their respective communities has suffered losses to fishing equipment of 70% - 100% and losses to agricultural equipment between 50-100%. The main livelihood needs identified by Barangay officials were inputs for fishing, crop planning and land preparation.

In Lawaan municipality, according to available government data, over 50% of the population lives below the poverty line and 20% are unemployed.

One major concern of the Barangay’s assessed was the fact that children are not able to attend schools because of damage to school facilities; thus a primary need identified by officials was the repair and rehabilitation of schools. A secondary need identified by officials was school equipment to enable children to return to school.

Current Interventions in the Targeted Municipalities

WFP has organised eight days of food supply for all three municipalities (restricted to rice currently). Other relief actors have been supplying basic food supplies in the first two weeks (rice, noodles, canned goods, coffee – standard USAID issue kit). In addition, local Filipino donations are provided in a very limited sense. All municipalities reported that at least 90% of population is 100% dependent on food aid. Regardless of SES (Socio-Economic Status), all livelihoods have ceased and very few families have coping mechanisms in place. In all three municipalities subsistence agriculture and fishing were undertaken by the population, but over 90% of families have lost their subsistence agriculture or fishing assets and/or crops. No market activity or trade have started functioning yet, so access to fruit and vegetables has not opened yet. Consultations with WFP have indicated that beyond the next Figure 7: Basay Municiaplity - DSWD Food Distrib utions ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

8 days, plans are still not formed. Expectations from the community in Lawaan and Marabut are that full dependency on relief assistance for food will last for at least one month. WFP and DSWD/USAID are delivering food to the municipality centres in all 3 municipalities and Local Government (Barangay Councils) are responsible for collecting aid from these centres. While most barangays are functioning, moving food relief is a significant strain on resources (labour, fuel, transportation assets). WFP noted concern regarding the sustainability of current relief operations in these municipalities and indicated the need for more sustainable operations in delivering food aid.

ACTED is conducting distribution of aqua tablets and child protection leaflets on behalf of Murabut on behalf of Unicef targeting 500 families.

Other Humanitarian Actors

ACTED is advocating for a coordinated response to the as-yet unmet needs in the southern areas of Western and Eastern Samar and is actively coordinating with other key stakeholders to ensure appropriate and timely assistance is provided. Key government stakeholders include Provincial government, Municipal Government, Local Government (barangay Councils), and national response actors such as DSWD, Departments of Health, Rural Health Units, etc. Through the consultations, assessments and emergency relief activities conducted to date, a strong and mutually supportive relationship is being established. All three municipal governments have capacity in coordinating emergency relief but are experiencing strain on logistics, human resources and other resources. In particular for barangay captains who are responsible for moving aid from the Municipal Centre to the Barangay and then to the community, this is a significant strain. Assessments to date indicate that relief delivered through this mechanism is reaching households, however due to insufficient supplies provided there is stock building up in Municipal Centre warehouses, with hesitance to undertake partial distributions, and limited logistical capacity to move items quickly. Prioritisation of needs by all levels of government seem responsive to the needs of their affected communities.

There are currently very few non-government actors operating in Western Samar province. The limited relief assistance reaching affected communities in this province (including these 3 municipalities) is ad-hoc assistance with no systematic provision of NFIs. WFP as of 22 November 2013 will have delivered 8-days supply of basic food assistance to all affected communities but is looking for more sustainable relief delivery mechanisms.

ICRC is present in the three target municipalities and is primarily targeting water supply (water trucking). Other forms of assistance by ICRC have not been observed. Oxfam also identified Lawaan as a location for WASH intervention – close coordination will ensue to ensure complementary activities and optimal distribution of assistance. Plan International Philippines has expressed an interest to work in some areas in Lawaan

Figure 8: Marabut Municipality municipality, but as yet is not operational in that area. ACTED will continue to identify and coordinate with all relevant humanitarian actors to avoid any duplication and ensure that the most vulnerable are reached. ACTED Assessment Report: Samar and Eastern Samar Provinces: Lawaan, Basey, and Marabot. 21 st November 2013

ACTED is proposing to implement a multi-sectoral response in the proposed municipalities and with presence in the area enabled through bases in both Tacloban and Guiuan, ACTED offers crucial logistical capacity and community engagement capacity. This is an essential resource for UN agencies with in-kind NFIs to achieve coverage in these affected areas.