Philippines - Typhoon Haima leaves trail of destruction in Cagayan Province
On 19 October, Typhoon Haima, a Category 5 tropical storm, made landfall over Cagayan Province in the Philippines. Haima’s heavy rains and winds left a trail of destruction, with at least 180,000 homes damaged and livelihoods of thousands of farmers crippled. The estimated cost of Haima’s damage to agriculture has exceeded 1 billion Philippine pesos (20 million US dollars). It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people have been affected one way or another. The lower number of casualties is partly due to action by the authorities to move at least 158,700 people out of harm’s way prior to the typhoon’s landfall. On 23 October IFRC launched an emergency appeal seeking 3 million Swiss francs to support the Philippine Red Cross in providing humanitarian assistance to 20,000 affected people.
