Philippines: Typhoon Bopha/Pablo Response Action Plan for Recovery Philippines (Mindanao) Humanitarian Action Plan 2013 This document outlines the humanitarian community’s response to the immediate humanitarian needs arising from Typhoon Bopha. Highlights • Between 4 and 7 December 2012, Typhoon Bopha, the most powerful storm to hit the Philippines in 2012, passed through the southern Philippines from Mindanao to Palawan, making landfall three times. • Out of the 5.4 million people affected, over 540 people are dead and 827 missing. • Some 368,672 people remain displaced; half of the displaced are in 173 evacuation centres; the remaining 190,871 people are staying in open areas or with family and friends. Over 46,000 houses are damaged or destroyed. • Initial rapid needs assessments and government priorities indicate dire needs in food, shelter, camp management, water and sanitation, protection and restoration of livelihoods. • By Proclamation No.522 of 7 December 2012, the President officially declared a national state of calamity and accepted offers of international assistance. • In support of Government efforts to respond to the immediate needs of the most affected people, US$65 million is sought to reach 481,000 people through 27 projects, implemented over a 3-6 month period. 5.4 million 368,672 481,000 $65 million Affected people Displaced Target beneficiaries Requested Situation Overview In the early hours of 4 December 2012, Typhoon Bopha, locally known as Pablo, hit the east coast of Mindanao in the south of the Philippines. It was the 16th and most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2012. With accumulated rainfall of 500 mm per 24 hours and wind strength of 175 km per hour, Typhoon Bopha had twice the rainfall and three times the wind strength of Tropical Storm Washi, which struck northern Mindanao in December 2011, claiming over 1,500 lives and affecting over half a million people. In the course of three days, Bopha moved westwards from Davao Oriental across Mindanao, Negros Oriental and Palawan. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), a state of calamity has been declared nationally and by 50 provinces, municipalities and cities across 5 affected regions, namely Regions IV-B, VII, X, XI and XIII. Eastern Mindanao bore the brunt of the Typhoon, particularly the provinces of Davao Oriental, Surigao del Sur and Compostela Valley. The provinces are mostly rural areas inhabited by coastal and mountainous communities and with an economy largely based on agriculture, fisheries, forestry and mining. Approximately 80% of households rely on subsistence farming, producing basic commodities such as coconut, vegetables, bananas, coffee and cocoa. Despite extensive preparedness efforts by the Government and by communities, which clearly saved lives, some 540 people are reported dead and 827 missing. Of the 5.4 million affected people, 368,672 people are being served inside and outside evacuation centres. More than two thirds of these people are in Region XI. Over 46,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, vast tracts of agricultural land have been ruined. Power is down in 21 municipalities and six areas are experiencing water supply interruptions. Classes have been suspended and schools used as evacuation centres. http://philippines.hu manitarianresponse.info/. Philippines: Typhoon Bopha/Pablo Reponse | 2 On 7 December, the President officially accepted the offer of international humanitarian assistance. In support of the Government’s response efforts, this document which forms a part of the Philippines (Mindanao) Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP) 2013 provides an overview of priority needs and funding requirements resulting from the impact of Typhoon Bopha. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) would thus need $65 million to implement 27 projects over a 3-6 months period. The Action Plan is expected to be revised around mid-January 2013. Coordination and Needs Assessment Coordination: On 30 November, the Government of the Philippines initiated preparedness measures by issuing early warning signals, establishing evacuation centres, pre-positioning relief items and by alerting response personnel. As early as 3 December, 972 evacuation centres were readied, and 81 personnel, 12 vehicles, 60 seacraft and 35 aircraft were pre-positioned. On 4 December, the President urged the public to heed warnings and pre-emptively evacuate. HCT members took similar preparedness measures at the national level assessing in-country capacity and stockpiles and reviewing the rapid needs assessment tool to suit the current emergency. On 3 December, the Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) chaired an inter-cluster coordination meeting in Manila to agree on joint preparedness actions. On 4 December, the RC/HC formally expressed the international community’s readiness to support the Government’s response efforts. As a pre-emptive measure, the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team was deployed to provide direct support to the Government and the HCT on joint rapid needs assessments, information management during the preparedness and response phase, and establishing humanitarian coordination mechanisms in affected areas. Additional support was provided by surge teams including from the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance. On 7 December, President Aquino III and the RC/HC visited the worst affected areas in Davao Region to see first- hand the situation on the ground. On the same day, the President declared the State of National Calamity and accepted the offer of international humanitarian assistance. In addition to already existing clusters, the shelter and logistics clusters were activated to coordinate the humanitarian response in the most affected areas of Mindanao. DSWD decided to establish an operations centre in Davao City and field command posts in Trento, Agusan del Sur, and Nabunturan, Compostela Valley, to cover 12 worst-affected municipalities in Regions XI and XIII. At the request of the Government, humanitarian partners will provide support to the NDRRMC with information management, including mapping. On 9 December in Davao City, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Soliman chaired a humanitarian meeting for government representatives, civil society, national and international NGOs, bilateral aid agencies and UN agencies to jointly plan respective cluster response. The Secretary briefed on the principles of response stressed by the President: the importance of strengthening coordination; the equitable distribution of relief where ‘no one is left behind’; a community-driven response; and meeting minimum standards. Communicating with affected communities and information management are essential. At the meeting, DSWD presented the joint NDRRMC-HCT rapid needs assessment results, which informed the cluster response planning that followed (see section on Humanitarian Needs and Priorities): Needs assessment: On 5 December, the NDRRMC and the HCT completed a rapid needs assessment in three regions initially identified as most affected regions: Davao (Region XI), Northern Mindanao (Region X) and CARAGA (Region XIII). The assessments indicated dire need for food, water, shelter, medicines, non-food items, such as generators, and protection. Access constraints and communication difficulties arising from fallen power lines, damaged and destroyed roads and bridges, storm debris and landslides and disrupted flights and telecommunications have hampered the ability to capture a complete picture of the Typhoon’s impact and to initiate the response in some areas. As the full extent of the Typhoon’s impact becomes known, detailed information can be found on http://philippines.hu manitarianresponse.info/ Humanitarian Needs and Priorities In support of the Government’s response effort, the Humanitarian Country Team will provide urgent and time- critical humanitarian assistance by: • providing immediate, life-saving assistance to people with assessed needs who have been affected or displaced • providing transitory and permanent shelter solutions to those who lost their homes • supporting the early re-establishment of livelihoods with a special focus on agriculture http://philippines.humanitarianresponse.info/ Philippines: Typhoon Bopha/Pablo Reponse | 3 Projects have been selected on the basis of the following main criteria: • Activities respond to life-saving needs of those most affected by Typhoon Bopha and cannot be met through existing resources and capacities • Activities are based on rapid needs assessment findings in the most affected areas • Activities build on the affected people’s resilience and response capacity • Activities build upon and complement (not duplicate) the Government’s response Camp Coordination and Camp Management In the most affected provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental (Region XI), evacuation centres are overcrowded. Some are severely damaged and unsafe for $2 million dwelling. The initial rapid needs assessment indicated that most people in New Bataan needed (Compostela Valley) are currently staying out in the open as there is no available facility to establish additional evacuation centres. Similar conditions were observed in the coastal municipalities of Cateel, Baganga, and Boston (Davao Oriental). The cluster has 145 camp managers available and 20 have already been deployed to Regions XI and XIII to augment government capacity. The main priority is: • to roll out the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)