Philippines: Emergency Response to Typhoon Bopha (locally named Pablo) Situation Report #13 20 December 2012 SITUATION OVERVIEW_______________________________________________________________________ As of 20 December, over 6.2 million people have been affected by Typhoon Bopha. Approximately 168,000 houses have been either totally or partially damaged. Approximately 985,000 persons are displaced, 97 percent of whom are living outside evacuation centres often near the remains of their homes. The death toll has risen to 1,047 and another 841 are still missing. A low pressure area may potentially bring rains to Mindanao on 24-25 December which could affect vulnerable populations in the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental who are already reeling from Typhoon Bopha. The low pressure area’s progress will be closely monitored. GOVERNMENT AND WFP FOOD ASSISTANCE RESPONSE HIGHLIGHTS__________________________________ As of 20 December, WFP has delivered to the affected provinces a total of 1,180 mt of rice, 145 mt of high- energy biscuits, and 27 mt of Plumpy’Doz. Based on a 10 kg ration, 1,180 mt of rice will feed nearly 590,000 persons for one round of ration. 27 mt of Plumpy’Doz will prevent malnutrition of approximately 41,400 children aged 6-36 months. WFP has fully allocated its entire rice contingency stock for the Typhoon Bopha response. WFP is already borrowing stocks from the WFP Central Mindanao operation. WFP has also borrowed US$2.1 million from the Immediate Response Account. Accordingly and given the lead time to purchase and deliver food assistance, early confirmation of all donor pledges is appreciated. Support to the prevention of acute malnutrition has been on-going in both Provinces of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley. In Davao Oriental, 4,690 children between 6-36 months of age have received the ready- to-use supplementary food. An inter-cluster meeting was held today led by UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator Luiza Carvalho. The meeting highlighted the need for an inter-cluster trip to Butuan to enhance coordination with CARAGA region and its affected provinces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur. In addition, the logistics cluster (co- led by the Office of Civil Defense and WFP) was requested to establish a UN operational base in Cateel, Davao Oriental which would be managed by OCHA. The operational base will be in line with government coordination structure. Cateel is one of the worst-hit areas in Davao Oriental. The inaccessibility of the municipalities of Cateel, Baganga, and Boston has been a challenge and has partly hampered humanitarian response. The RC/HC has also activated the Emergency Telecommunication cluster. The humanitarian community urgently needs telecommunication infrastructure and services, particularly in Cateel, Trento and other areas of priority. This decision has been made in consultation with government counterparts and with Humanitarian Country Team cluster coordinators. On 18 December, Australian Embassy Charge d’ Affaires Andrew Byrne visited the WFP warehouse in Manila. In response to increasing humanitarian needs from the effects of Typhoon Bopha, the Australian Embassy in Manila has announced a new pledge of support for WFP operations in response to the typhoon. On 19 December, upon the request of the Governor of Davao Oriental, WFP Country Director Stephen Anderson and three delegates from AusAID visited the critically affected areas of Baganga, Cateel, and Boston in Davao Oriental. DSWD and UNHCR also participated in the mission. Each municipality presented their priority relief needs which included food and shelter among many other needs. In all locations visited the need for assistance is in rebuilding livelihoods during the early recovery phase. Agriculture (including coconut, rice, rubber, coffee) has been devastated in these three coastal municipalities. In partnership with the Department of Education, WFP is finalizing the list of targeted schools and enrolment figures for the emergency school feeding programme to be introduced initially in the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental in January 2013 that will help to restore a sense of normalcy to badly affected communities. In Compostela Valley, proposals for WFP food-for-work (FFW) activities are already being reviewed jointly with the provincial and local governments, which include vegetable farm rehabilitation and drainage cleaning. Potential FFW participants are also beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer programme that target the poorest households in the nation. WFP is already soliciting technical assistance from prospective counterpart government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture. In addition to the already functional humanitarian hub in Trento, the second hub in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley has been completed as of 19 December. Four DSWD staff members have already been operating from the hub in coordination with the provincial government. DSWD has requested for an additional hub to be erected in Mati to store commodities to be distributed in Davao Oriental. Preparations are well underway to conduct an in-depth Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihood Survey for the affected provinces of of Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Surgao Del Sur and Agusan Del Sur. Inputs from potential partners including UNICEF, ILO, and UNDP are being integrated into a draft questionnaire. Enumerators are already being recruited. The outcome of the assessment will inform the revision of the flash appeal in January 2013. As of today 20 December, 30 WFP staff members are based in Davao City. In addition, two are based in the DSWD hubs in Trento, Agusan del Sur and Nabunturan, Compostela Valley. RESOURCE UPDATE__________________________________________________________________________ In order to provide complementary support to the government on a timely basis, WFP urgently needs a total of US$ 21 million to help save lives and to kick-start the recovery process through the below-outlined activities. Discussions are underway with a number of potential donors. Yum! has confirmed a contribution of $275,000 which is earmarked for the emergency school feeding programme. Greece has also confirmed Euro 50,000. Food and Cash distributions: The total amount required under this operation is US$19.6 million (including associated costs) for 15,331 mt of assorted food commodities and in form of cash (US$2million) for areas where markets are functioning. The assorted food commodities include high-energy biscuits, vegetable oil, beans and rice. Resources permitting, WFP intends to commence emergency food for work for debris clearing in highly affected areas where markets are not functioning. Logistics: A total of US$ 802,500 is needed by WFP under the logistics cluster to address the request from the Government of the Philippines in regard to logistics support, as well as to prepare for perceived needs of the wider humanitarian community, immediate logistical augmentation, coordination and support is required. As the humanitarian community scales up its relief response, life-saving and life-sustaining relief items will be needed. In order to ensure that these supplies reach the most vulnerable people affected by the crisis in a timely and efficient manner additional logistics services are required. Nutrition: A total of US$1.2m is immediately required for Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food (RUSF) for Treatment and Prevention targeting some 150,000 children between 6-59 months of age. PHOTOS____________________________________________________________________________ 18 December 2012. Typhoon Bopha totally destroyed nearly 66,500 houses. Photo credit: WFP Philippines/Peter Caton. 19 December 2012. Geoff King, Counsellor of AusAID and 18 December 2012. Nabunturan, Compostela Valley. Stephen Anderson, WFP Philippines Representative and Offloading WFP rice to be stored in the DSWD hub which Country Director head to the local government office in was erected with support from WFP. Photo credit: WFP Boston, Davao Oriental after alighting from a military Philippines/Masanobu Horie. helicopter. The worst-hit areas of Boston, Baganga, and Cateel are not easily accessible by land. Photo credit: WFP Philippines/Peter Caton. 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