UNICEF on standby as Philippines braces for Typhoon

UNICEF on standby as Philippines braces for Typhoon Hagupit, one year after Haiyan

Typhoon Hagupit, known locally as Ruby, currently situated off the east coast of the Philippines, could make landfall this weekend with a potential path through the same communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

At the moment there is uncertainty surrounding the actual path or scale of Typhoon Hagupit, with reports indicating it is either a category 4 or 5 typhoon which could cause significant damage.

Karen Gray, Communications Director at UNICEF New Zealand, recently returned from six weeks in Tacloban working with UNICEF Philippines, where she met many families affected by Typhoon Haiyan. She said, “The people of the Philippines and Tacloban in particular, are desperately hoping they will not face another disaster on the same scale as Typhoon Haiyan which hit a year ago. That was the largest typhoon to ever make landfall.

“Having just returned from the Philippines, I met so many people that lost everything after Haiyan and are only now just beginning to get back on track. If Hagupit is as bad as some weather sources are predicting, the momentous gains made in the last year could be devastatingly undone.”

UNICEF has been on the ground in the Philippines for nearly 70 years and is ready and waiting to respond to whatever the needs may be in the coming days and support the Government in its response. UNICEF has a supply warehouse in Tacloban containing prepositioned supplies and a team of experts in critical areas including water and sanitation, health, nutrition and child protection.

UNICEF Philippines Chief of Tacloban Field Office, Maulid Warfa said, "Unlike last year, there are a lot of UN agencies and INGO partners on the ground in Tacloban and other cities ready to provide support and assistance."

Ms. Gray added, “Our thoughts are with all those currently in Tacloban and the surrounding area. We will continue to keep in close contact with our colleagues in the Philippines on what they are experiencing on the ground and what we can do here in New Zealand to aid them.”

As the Philippines is so prone to natural disasters, part of UNICEF’s response to Typhoon Haiyan was on longer term recovery efforts focused on building resilience among communities and within the structures that serve them. This is geared towards ensuring that any future natural disasters do not result in the same level of damage and devastation.

UNICEF-supported response efforts after Typhoon Haiyan resulted in much progress over the last year including:

• More than 1.3 million people gained access to safe water
• 25,000 children were reached with psychosocial support
• 630,000 children were provided with learning materials and
• 1,300,000 children were immunized nationwide
• Over 28,000 community members received training on disaster risk reduction.

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