Typhoon Frank Emergency Response in the Philippines

Main Concept: Provision of emergency assistance, particularly in terms of public health services and emergency food security and livelihoods, to population severely affected by Typhoon Frank in the Western Visayas Region and Mindanao, while increasing capacity of concerned local governments and partners in emergency response programming and disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The history of Oxfam in the country/region:

Oxfam GB in the Philippines has been active in disaster management, humanitarian and emergency response since 1990s. Oxfam GB’s Philippine Office has been supporting community-based disaster risk management programmes combined with policy advocacy that integrates the analysis of hazards, capacities and vulnerabilities in development planning from national to community level.

Experience of Oxfam in emergencies in the country/region

Since 2000, Oxfam GB’s Philippine Office has implemented a humanitarian programme in Central Mindanao to respond to the needs of IDPs displaced by the long-running and complex conflict situation in the area. In 2003, it responded to the disaster caused by landslides in Southern Leyte. In 2004, it delivered a 6-month response to the typhoon and landslide-affected people of Infanta and General Nakar in Quezon Province. Then in 2006/7, when Typhoon Durian devastated the Bicol Region, Oxfam GB implemented a 6-month response for those severely affected by mud and landslides in Albay Province. Oxfam GB’s specific contributions have been in water and sanitation, public health promotion, emergency livelihoods, capacity-building of local structures, humanitarian advocacy. For the complex conflict situation in Mindanao, interventions are mainly focussed on public health, livelihoods, peace-building and governance, and improvement of access and the quality of education.

Background to the disaster

On 19 June 2008, tropical depression Frank (international code name: Fengshen) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and quickly developed into a storm with a maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the centre and with gustiness of up to 140 kph. Initially it threatened to hit the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions but by 21 June 2008 very quickly changed its course and instead rampaged through Central and Western Visayas, Southern Tagalog, National Capital/Metro Manila and Central Luzon regions before finally exiting over South China Sea on 24 June 2008. As if its own strength was not enough, Typhoon Frank also enhanced the southwest monsoon already prevailing in the country that time, bringing unusually heavy rains and strong winds to as far as Mindanao, causing massive floods (reportedly as high as 6 ft in some areas) mudslides, and landslides. Dozens of provinces were placed under storm signal no. 3 (highest is 4), Metro Manila included, and promptly declared under state of calamity. On 24 June 2008, the Philippine Government, through its National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) formally requested assistance to the UN and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC).

. Impacts of the disaster:

As of 27 June 2008, NDCC tally indicates that 593,280 families/3,012,007 individuals from 3,908 barangays/villages in 379 municipalities and cities in 45 provinces were affected by Typhoon Frank. In the past 6 days, numbers just kept on rising by the hundreds as more information is received from local government units (LGUs). There is a multitude of problems in reporting between national and local levels because the typhoon destroyed power sources and communication facilities in many of the affected regions and provinces, and also because of lack of coordination amongst information officials.

Reports from several sources (government, I/NGOs, local/international media) clearly indicate that most severely affected provinces are Iloilo, Antique, Aklan and Capiz in Panay Island in Region VI (Western Visayas). The provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan and North Cotabato, all in Mindanao, also sustained significant damages.

Typhoon Frank also caused a passenger ferry, M/V Princess of the Stars, to capsize off the coast of Sibuyan Island in Romblon Province on 21 June 2008. More than 700 people are believed to have perished in the accident. As of this writing, frantic search and retrieval operations are on-going. Aside from this, 11 other maritime incidents were recorded at the height of the typhoon.

. Numbers of men/women/children affected and how, e.g. numbers displaced,

Of the more than 500,000 families affected in the whole country, 372,194 are from the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Aklan, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan and North Cotabato (see table below). Of this number, more than 300,000 families were displaced and stayed (some are still staying) in evacuation centres or with relatives.

Note that information from Aklan still grossly incomplete as power and communication facilities still almost non-functional in the province as of this writing.

TYPHOON FRANK Families & Individuals Affected* Eight Provinces in Regions VI, XII and ARMM** as of 27 June 2008

Villages Province Affected Number of Affected Number Displaced*** Families Individuals Families Individuals

Iloilo 962 130,221 687,345 138,686 716,694

Antique 305 59,410 309,489 59,522 308,493

Capiz 385 54,962 320,013 53,188 310,145

Aklan**** 48,248 232,298 14,282 84,401

North Cotabato 51 13,544 65,270 13,729 66,195

Sultan Kudarat 54 8,760 43,800 8,780 43,800

Shariff Kabunsuan 69 18,674 93,370 18,674 93,370

Maguindanao 178 38,375 181,098 35,737 159,272

TOTAL 2,004 372,194 1,932,683 342,598 1,782,370 *Aggregate data from NDCC, Regional/Provincial Disaster Coordinating Councils, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. **ARMM: Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. ***People displaced are either staying in evacuation centres or with their relatives. ****Data on Aklan still grossly incomplete, e.g. number of affected villages not yet available.

No gender disaggregated data available yet.

. Population movements: who, where, how fast, in what health conditions

As mentioned earlier, collection of information on Aklan Province is still on-going. But initial reports indicate that a significant portion of the affected population, at one point, stayed in 154 evacuation centres the local government of Aklan set up. In one village alone (Numancia), where 5,796 families/28,590 individuals were affected, some 60% of houses were totally damaged. As in most cases in the Philippines, evacuation centres used are public school buildings with limited and ill-suited facilities (they were designed for students and for limited number of users only), including water and sanitation facilities. To date however, generally people have returned back to their homes, albeit if these have been greatly destroyed by the typhoon.

In Sultan Kudarat, three towns—Isulan, Esperanza and Lambayong—were inundated by the massive flooding that Typhoon Frank unleashed in Mindanao. However, rapid assessment results point out that damages sustained by Isulan and Ezperanza were more on livelihood (crops were destroyed, livestock drowned) and that it is Lambayong that require immediate emergency assistance. In this municipality, 5,000 families/25,300 individuals were affected with more than 90% forced to evacuate at the height of the typhoon. As in Aklan Province however, generally people have returned back to their homes, although there are 670 families/1,976 individuals still staying in evacuation centres at the moment because their villages are still under water. Evacuation centres organised by the local government of Lambayong included a gymnasium (with 38 families) and two public school buildings (one with 233 families, another with 395 families) in the town centre.

Elsewhere in Panay Island and in Mindanao, people are back in their homes trying to salvage what they can to start life all over again. The situation in the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Shariff Kabunsuan have been sufficiently assessed and are now being provided emergency assistance by their respective local governments and other service providers.

. Movements of combatants in the area, human rights abuses, security

There are no reports of such events in the Western Visayas provinces although it should be noted that some remote villages in Aklan Province are known to be operation areas of the New People’s Army. In Maguindanao, a minor clash between government troops and soldiers of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) around the area of Sultan Sabarongis municipality almost upset the conduct of rapid assessment by Oxfam and Accion Contra El Famine (ACF). Thus monitoring of security situation in Mindanao is on-going.

. Numbers of deaths

According to NDCC, death toll now stands at 505 while 287 people are still missing, excluding those that were trapped in the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars.

. Critical health indicators

Both in the affected provinces in Panay Island and in Mindanao, access to safe drinking water is at the moment a highly critical issue as water sources have been contaminated by floodwaters. In Aklan Province, main water system (piped) almost completely damaged while Level 1 sources (deep wells, springs) now soaked in mud. In Sultan Kudarat, water tankering is being carried out by the municipal fire department. Thus, diarrhoea outbreak is feared in the next few days.

. Details of property/infrastructure/land/crops destroyed

Number of houses totally damaged now 59,616; partially damaged now 118,851. As per NDCC report, initial cost of damage to infrastructure and agriculture now stands at more that PHP 6.8 billion.

Aklan provincial government declared that as of 25 June 2008, damages sustained by the province stands as PhP 785,460,670.00.

In Lambayong in Sultan Kudarat, around 5,000 hectares of agricultural land in 14 villages planted with rice and corn still submerged in floodwaters.

Power outages are still occurring in many areas in Panay Island. As mentioned, there is still no electricity at the moment in Aklan Province seriously affecting prompt relay of information.

. Contamination of water sources, lack of sanitation facilities

As mentioned, water sources in the affected provinces contaminated by floodwater, even by mud in Panay Island.

Information on sanitation situation still being gathered but the general feeling amongst service providers is that it will be a big problem very soon as sanitation facilities were also destroyed. In Lambayong , in one evacuation centre (a gymnasium) there is only one toilet servicing 38 families while in another (a school), only 2 toilets available for 228 families.

. Details of water shortage; numbers of people without access to clean water

As mentioned, formal water system in Aklan Province has collapsed thus there is critical shortage of drinking water and the local government does not have the capacity to quickly restore water supply in the worst affected communities.

For ARMM, the Regional Department of Health (DOH) has already requested chlorination tables from the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster.

. Effect on local services, resources and coping mechanisms

In general local governments in the affected provinces were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster brought about by Typhoon Frank and there is still very little support being extended by the national government.

Particularly for Iloilo, Antique, Capiz and Aklan, it has been a while since these provinces experienced such a strong typhoon that people were caught almost totally flatfooted especially when Typhoon Frank suddenly changed its course. In fact in Aklan, people didn’t anymore fully get the warning that the typhoon would directly hit them because power sources instantly collapsed (even before the province was placed under public storm signal no. 3). Thus even government officials and service providers in the areas became victims themselves. It becomes more difficult for small provinces like Aklan that has very limited financial resources and technical expertise to respond to the disaster situation. As the impact of Typhoon Frank in Panay Island has been picked up by local/international media, relief assistance have started to come in the last three days mostly from the private sector (corporate networks, civic groups, etc). However these have been concentrated in Iloilo City and Iloilo Province being the seat of regional government. Accessibility, especially to Aklan Province (that has number of island municipalities), is also an issue.

In Sultan Kudarat, the little allocation for disaster work was almost completely spent even before Typhoon Frank swept into the country as the local government has been trying to repair a dike that has been damaged when Allah River seriously overflowed early this year. And now, the dike has been further damaged.

. Needs already identified

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in its appeal last 25 June 2008, urgent needs list for the victims of Typhoon Frank include:

Adult and children clothes, including slippers Basins Bath towels Cooking stove and utensils (e.g. plates, glasses, frying pans, cooking pots) Drinking water Food, ready-to-eat food packs Generator sets “Malong”, local fabric Mats, blankets, pillows, mosquito nets Medical supplies Shelter materials, tents Water purifiers, water containers Lighting supplies and materials (candles, gas lamps, flashlights, batteries, etc), Hygiene materials (e.g. bath soaps, toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitary napkins), Undergarments (underwear, briefs, bra).

Rapid assessments conducted by Oxfam GB with its partners validated such a needs list. But in addition, there is an urgent need to restore/repair formal water sources and disinfect other sources (pumps, springs, wells) in the affected communities to immediately arrest degradation of overall public health situation.

Sanitation facilities have also been destroyed by the typhoon (some still covered by floodwater and mud) but as mentioned earlier, information on this is still being gathered.

Current Oxfam Response

Oxfam GB Programme Officer for Emergency Response and Preparedness has just completed rapid assessment in the provinces in Panay Island with Plan International as part of the inter-agency assessment team of the Philippine INGO Network (PINGON). They examined the situation in Aklan Province, moved towards Capiz Province, and finally arrived in Iloilo City last 27 June 2008. In Aklan, the assessment was conducted with Oxfam GB’s local partner in the province, Developers Foundation Inc, which is now functioning as an emergency operation centre. Another PINGON member, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), carried out the assessment in Antique while other members—World Vision, Save the Children Federation (SCF)-US and Christian Aid—already accomplished assessments of Iloilo Province. In Maguindanao Province, Oxfam GB’s Mindanao Programme, ACF and the DOH Regional Office, composing the local WASH Cluster (the cluster approached was rolled out in ARMM early this year), conducted joint assessment of disaster-affected communities on 26 June 2008.

For Sultan Kudarat, Oxfam GB mobilised its partner in the province, the Rural Development Institute of Sultan Kudarat (RDISK) to conduct the assessment of affected communities. RDISK is currently working with Oxfam GB’s Mindanao Programme in implementing a public health/livelihoods/governance humanitarian project and has attended training on participatory capacity and vulnerability analysis, and thus competent enough to conduct emergencies assessment.

With the decision to respond to the situation in Aklan, administrative and logistical procedures are now being carried towards the setting up a temporary office (1-3 months) in the province. The Philippine Programme’s Emergency Response Team has now been fully activated (was partially activated last week) with public health (PHP, PHE) and logistics staff to be deployed the soonest time possible to Aklan. Suppliers, possibly including those in Cebu City (nearer to Panay Island), are already being contacted.

As a chair of PINGON, Oxfam GB is responsible for information sharing and has developed a need and response matrix, which will be filled by each member organisation to avoid duplication. This will be updated every week for now. As a major player in the WASH Cluster at the national level, Oxfam GB is also taking on information management for the cluster. An information management staff is being recruited to assist on this.

Proposed Programme Oxfam GB, using methods and equipment developed for emergency situations over the last two decades, will assist affected population to protect itself against public health risks that may result from:

- Lack/very limited access to safe and clean drinking water - Mudslides in Aklan Province - Although water has already subsided in majority of the affected areas in Panay Island, however it left mud in the communities - Floodwaters still present in many of affected areas in Mindanao, in fact, some communities still isolated - Water sources severely damaged and submerged, therefore high risk of water contamination - Highly congested situation in evacuation centres - Very limited facilities, particularly sanitation facilities, in evacuation centres - Destroyed sanitation facilities - Limited health personnel and very small supply of medicines in local health units - Very limited food supply, both in terms of quantity and quality

. Main Aim –

Reduce public health risks and avoid spread of diseases.

. Target Area –

Initially 2 municipalities in Aklan Province (Numancia and Libacao) is the target but will also assess the situation in island and upland towns (e.g. Banga and Batan that also registered high numbers of affected families). In Numancia 5,796 families were affected and in Libacao, 10,000 families, according to the latest NDCC report. In Sultan Kudarat, 1 municipality, Lambayong, would also be covered, particularly those staying in evacuation centres but are expected to go home soon as floodwater in their villages recedes in the coming days.

. Target Population –

Our proposed plan is to cover approx 11,000 families in both locations for three months: (10,000 in Aklan and 1,000 in Sultan Kudarat). More detailed assessment will inform further details i.e. disaggregated data.

. Specific Activities – : . Increasing access to clean drinking water for at least 60,000 people. This would include distributing water purification/chlorination materials for one week, supporting local governments for trucking/tankering water, and water testing of still available water sources. Additionally, this would include coordinating with other organisations (e.g. International Federation of the Red Cross, WASH Cluster) for the immediate repair/restoration/disinfection of water sources to avert any contamination. . Distribution of water containers to 11,000 families (1 each), also for use with the chlorination materials (e.g. Hyposol). . Health promotion and community mobilisation in all the affected barangays/villages in the targeted areas. . Provision of hygiene kits to 5,000 families prioritising those that are still staying in evacuation centres. Hygiene kit to include “malong”, a local fabric sewn in both ends to have many uses—as blanket, as dress, as something to cover oneself when dressing especially in public areas. . Distribution of undergarments to 20,000 women and children. . Cash transfer programming: To be determined after detailed assessment but initially targeted to 5,000 most affected families. . Food distribution in evacuation centres (we will speak to Plan International if they would like to take this up). . Capacity Building of LGUs (municipal level) and partner NGOs. . Advocacy particularly on DRR and management of water systems.

Co-ordination

. What local government and other agencies are doing

LGUs particularly in Aklan has collapsed as they were ill prepared and did not foresee the extent of damage happened in the area. Most of the local government officials are effected by the typhoon themselves, therefore taking time to recover from this shock. Since the information did not filter through quickly, there was not much emergency assistance was provided to the effected populations and major cities like Iloilo benefited greatly from the generous assistance by Government, Private sector and individual philanthropists. Oxfam GB and Plan were the first organisations to reach out to the area. IFRC is planning to send in an international team for assessment in the area as well.

In Sultan Kudarat, local Government is under-capacitated in terms of dealing with the situation, however they are utilising their resources to do very initial response such as food distribution to displaced families for one day.

Some members of PINGON are already carrying out emergency response (mainly food and NFI distribution) especially in their programme areas in the country. World Vision and SCF are serving some communities in Iloilo and Antique provinces, the latter also looking after their programme areas in Central Mindanao Region. ADRA has provided some relief assistance in Iloilo and due to start work in Antique. Christian Aid has assisted families in Sibuyan Island in Romblon Province and is also looking at Iloilo. ACF will be serving its programme areas in Maguindanao.

UNICEF and ACF, on behalf of the WASH Cluster, would be conducting further assessments in Panay Island and Romblon next week to see if there are already gaps emerging. This will inform plan of action of the cluster with regards to this emergency.

As mentioned, the private sector has been very active in delivering response services, but mostly concentrated in Iloilo Province. Oxfam GB is keeping in touch closely with ABS-CBN Foundation (a television network), that has brought in a number water filtration tanks in Iloilo, trying to have some of the tanks moved to Aklan.

. Oxfam is formulating this programme with who, if anyone

Oxfam GB has carried out the assessment with Plan International in Aklan Province and with ACF in Mindanao. Plan has expressed its interest in working with Oxfam GB in Aklan since they don’t have a local partner. Further modalities will be determined once response strategy is finalised and signed off.

ACF and Oxfam GB has been working very closely for last years in Mindanao and generally complementing each other, therefore we expect very much the same coordination and ways of working in this response as well.

. Oxfam is/will be implementing this programme with who, if anyone

Oxfam GB will implement its programme through local partners in both Aklan and Sultan Kudarat provinces. For Aklan, it will partner with Developers Foundation, Inc, a fair trade partner, while in Sultan Kudarat, it will work with RDISK. We will be semi-operational with country ERT will be deployed to provide the project management and sectoral leadership. We are also exploring opportunities for seconding staff from other partners who have experienced emergency response in previous years particularly in public health and EFSL.