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10-01-2013 | Latest News , Asia & Pacific

Philippines: One month on, thousands are struggling to rebuild their lives

ENG

Typhoon Bopha (local name: Pablo) struck the eastern coast of Mindanao island during the first week of December in 2012. It made landfall as a Category IV typhoon in Davao Oriental on 4 December then traversed the northern coast mainly affecting the provinces of Compostela Valley, Agusan Del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Siquijor, before exiting the Philippines through the island of Palawan.


The worst disaster to hit the country in the past year, its passage across the country took a total of five days, sustaining winds of 175 kph. Although the storm weakened slightly upon hitting land, it brought heavy rains and strong winds that left a trail of destruction to homes, livelihoods and infrastructure across 34 provinces. In total, over 6 million people were affected, more than 1000 were killed, and the estimated cost of damage is approximately PHP 37 billion. One month later, thousands of families are still struggling to rebuild their lives.


The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched a 16.2 million Swiss franc emergency appeal to help the Philippine Red Cross provide humanitarian assistance to 200,000 people. Under the emergency appeal, IFRC plans to support the Philippine Red Cross provide food, health, hygiene and long-term livelihoods assistance to affected communities. Shelter being one of the key priorities, the Philippine Red Cross also plans to rebuild typhoon-resilient shelters for 4,000 families, and 15,000 families will be assisted with shelter repair materials whose houses were damaged by Bopha.


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