Philippines: Typhoon Bopha Situation Report No. 15 (as of 15 January 2013) This report is produced by OCHA in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It was issued by OCHA Philippines. It covers the period from 8 to 15 January 2013. The next report will be issued on or around 22 January 2013. Highlights Female single-headed households and the elderly should be prioritised for immediate shelter assistance. Cash-for-work projects are significant to pave way for early recovery and livelihood support. 400,000 people need food assistance for relief and recovery for a period of six months. Communications with affected communities is important in understanding and improving humanitarian response. Sources: NDRRMC and DROMIC. The escalation in the initial three weeks was the result of damage assessments reported by NDRRMC, and in January as NDRRMC no longer reported figures, DSWD’s DROMIC figures are used. 6.2 835,934* 7,524* 1,067 834 216,817 Displaced people Displaced people Reported dead Missing Houses totally or million outside evacuation inside evacuation partially damaged Affected people centres centres * These are updates from the latest Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) report issued on 7 January 2013. Situation Overview The need for shelter remains critical, some five weeks since Typhoon Bopha (locally known as Pablo) made landfall in Mindanao on 4 December 2012, leaving a trail of destruction. Results of a Shelter Cluster assessment, released during the reporting period, highlighted the impact on shelter as extreme, with 98 per cent of surveyed houses destroyed or damaged and 93 per cent considered uninhabitable. The latest government reports indicate that an estimated 46,800 houses were totally damaged including 21,200 (45 per cent) in Davao Oriental province and 25,500 located in Compostela Valley province, areas covered by the assessment. Similarly, almost 92 per cent of all partially damaged houses are estimated to be in these two worst-affected provinces. Among the survey’s recommendations is the prioritisation of female single-headed households and people with disabilities for immediate shelter assistance based on their current unacceptable living conditions and the fact that they are the least likely to reconstruct their homes on their own. Among other groups, women and the elderly form part of larger groups of households who are located in makeshift shelters off of their previously inhabited land, located on their previously inhabited land in makeshift shelters and households living in evacuation centres. The Shelter Cluster also recommends the use of innovative projects to allow people rebuild their homes as half of those interviewed expressed interest in offering labour support. This recommendation resonates with the objectives of the Early Recovery and Livelihood clusters in the provision of short and longer-term strategies for recovery and reconstruction. Debris clearing has been identified as an enabler for other clusters to be able to provide services to the affected people. Priority areas for ongoing debris clearance include health facilities, schools, public markets, municipal buildings, bridges, minor roads and waterways. The activities provide emergency livelihoods, helping to restore vital community service facilities including shelter. According to the Livelihood Cluster, 35,728 hectares of coconut fields in Baganga municipality, Davao Oriental province alone suffered an estimated 90 per cent damage. However, lumber from fallen coconut trees can be recovered as construction materials for the thousands of damaged residential structures and for the construction of temporary and permanent shelters for the displaced. + For more information, see “background on the crisis” at the end of the report www.unocha.org The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors. Coordination Saves Lives Typhoon Bopha Situation Report No.15 | 2 Humanitarian Response Camp Coordination and Camp Management Needs: Some 2,568 families/12,800 people are displaced from Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur provinces, of which 875 families/4,400 people are living in makeshift shelters, tents and bunkhouses, according to the latest Displacement Tracking Matrix assessments. Families are moving to tents and bunkhouses from evacuation centres while they await permanent relocation. Response: Displacement tracking continues to identify gaps in services and improve living conditions of the displaced. The recent assessment included a number of spontaneous settlements or self-settled camps, where affected families primarily dwell in makeshift shelters. Monitoring shows needs include tents, planned tent cities and bunkhouses including provision of services such as latrines and bathing cubicles. CCCM Cluster meetings and orientations are being rolled out in Compostela Valley province, specifically in the municipalities of Monkayo, Montevista, New Bataan, Compostela and Laak. Gaps & Constraints: There remains a challenge in tracking displaced populations living in makeshift shelters due to difficulties in accessing hinterland areas. Collation of accurate data at the municipal level remains a challenge. Early Recovery Needs: In a recent guidance, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) identified debris clearing and clean-up as an immediate concern for early recovery to enable other clusters to provide services to the worst- affected communities. Access to the remote barangays in the municipalities of Baganga, Cateel and Boston in Davao Oriental province due to rains and distance. Power and electricity supply interruptions persist in most of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental provinces. Response: Debris clearing and minor repairs of the access road leading to Cateel municipal dumpsite are ongoing. At least 100 people have completed some cash-for-work projects in Boston Central Elementary School. Another 280 displaced people have completed more cash-for-work activities in three schools in Compostela Valley, enabling students to resume classes. All debris clearing activities are being undertaken with priority areas identified by the Local Government Units (LGUs). Education Needs: 96,589 sets of learners’ kits are needed for those who did not receive learning 100 materials. teachers receive 1,444 partially damaged classrooms need rehabilitation and 1,120 totally damaged psychosocial support classrooms need reconstruction. Response: Some 100 typhoon-affected teachers received psychosocial support while 1,000 students received learner’s kits in Lingig, Surigao del Sur. A thousand notebooks were distributed to children in Baganga municipalities, Davao Oriental province. Repair and rehabilitation of 39 classrooms, two administrative blocks and a principal’s office is ongoing in seven schools in Cateel municipality, Davao Oriental province. Water containers, bottles of distilled water, and lamps were distributed to three elementary schools in Baganga, Davao Oriental in addition to non-food items comprising of a pail, a blanket, a mosquito net, five candles, a pot and kitchen utensil distributed to11 elementary schools. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Typhoon Bopha Situation Report No.15 | 3 A private donor distributed food packs to 38 teachers in a National High School in Baganga municipality, Davao Oriental province. Some 55,842 students are being targeted for supplementary feeding. Gaps & Constraints: There are gaps in the procurement of enough learning tents and other emergency education supplies for schools and day care centres. Gaps remain in teacher’s manuals and instructional materials. Food Security Needs: An estimated 1,000,000 people are in need of food assistance. Of these, the 400,000 Government has requested Food Security Cluster support for 400,000 critically- critically affected affected people, taking into account also the support provided by the International people in need of Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). sustained food assistance Response: A million typhoon-affected people have been receiving vital food assistance from a host of sources, principally the Government. Approximately 400,000 people have received family food packs in Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, and Lanao del Sur provinces, according to DSWD reports. Some 6,200 people, drawn from targeted poor households, are involved in 25 food-for-work projects in four of the five most-affected municipalities of New Bataan, Montevista, Compostela and Monkayo in Compostela province. At least 7,000 people are involved in cash-for-work activities to address food insecurity in Baganga, Cateel and Boston municipalities in Davao Oriental province. A preliminary result of a Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihoods Assessment recently concluded in the four most affected provinces indicates that although markets are operational, the affected communities are highly dependent on food relief. Gaps & Constraints: Though the cluster has extended food assistance to the planned number of beneficiaries, challenges remain in sustaining food security of typhoon-affected people. Funding to jumpstart early recovery activities is needed to sustain gains made. The recent weather disturbance