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Press Releases & Updates

02 DEC 2013

Latest Situation of the Philippines Typhoon

  • Typhoon Haiyan has affected over 13 million people and killed approximately 5,500 people.. Over 3.5 million people are displaced and over 23,000 injured. 1,600 people are still missing.
  • Two weeks on, there is a significant improvement in access to disaster affected areas as roads, seaports and air strips have opened and some telecommunications have been restored. Congestion at Tacloban airport is starting to ease.
  • Typhoon Haiyan has hit the poorest and most vulnerable people the hardest. The typhoon affected a third of the country’s rice growing areas and missing the next planting season in December will potentially leave millions of Filipinos without their staple food as well as a huge loss of income for farmers.
  • Even though access is now improving, there are still health concerns, with urgent need for safe drinking water and medical assistance, especially in Leyte and Samar. 
  • The most immediate needs on the ground are food, clean water, shelter and sanitation.
  • Aid is now getting through. According to the announcement of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on 22 November, 2.5 million people have been reached with basic food assistance, and over 1.1 million family food packs with rice and high energy biscuits have been distributed after two weeks.

 

Oxfam’s Response: 

  • Oxfam has now reached over 200,000 people with emergency relief.
  • We will be providing mobile water treatment units (that can generate 4-6 cubic metres per hour) to at least 5 different sites, complete with generators and fuel to run them. We will also be installing mass water storage (either steel tanks that can accommodate up to 45,000 litres or a ‘bladder’ which holds 10,000 litres) complete with tap stands. Oxfam staff will treat and/or repair existing hand pumps and water points.
  • We will be providing 1,000 communal temporary latrines, cleaning kits and handwashing stations.
  • In Leyte, we have reached 146,000 people in Tacloban, Palo, Tanauan and Julita through distributing over 10,000 hygiene kits, erecting 10 water bladder tanks, completing over 30 latrines, and providing assistance to people for debris clearance work. 
  • In Cebu and Bantayan Island, we have reached nearly 77,000 people, providing over 2,500 hygiene kits and assistance to people for debris clearance work.
  • In eastern Samar, we have reached over 1,400 people. There are also plans to assist 15,000 households to rebuild their homes.