November 13, 2013

Highlights

Additional humanitarian personnel and commodities are arriving in typhoon-affected areas. The logistical situation continues to improve as roads are cleared and transportation networks restored; however, key challenges to providing relief to populations in need—including fuel shortages, debris management, and vehicle shortage—remain.

On November 13, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) transported USAID/OFDA-provided relief supplies to typhoon-affected communities in Guiuan city and surrounding areas for onward distribution.

As of November 13, donors had pledged nearly $97 million, or approximately 32 percent, of the funding requested by the U.N. Humanitarian Action Plan for the Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan response.

Key Developments

On November 13, the NDRRMC reported that Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan had caused at least 2,344 deaths, affected an estimated 8 million people, and damaged or destroyed approximately 188,000 houses, across 43 provinces in the Philippines. The NDRRMC also reported that the typhoon has resulted in an estimated $89 million in agriculture and infrastructure damages. The GPH and humanitarian partners expect the confirmed death toll and damage reports to continue to increase as transportation and communications systems are restored and as more information becomes available.

The international community has begun to conduct health-related relief activities to address the immediate needs of typhoon-affected populations. USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) reports that numerous actors are providing field hospitals, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, and medical staff. The GPH has established several field hospitals and continues to identify appropriate sites to place additional hospitals. Additionally, the DART reports that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) successfully evacuated severely injured persons out of Tacloban city within 24 to 48 hours immediately following the typhoon. Five foreign medical teams are operating in Cebu and Tacloban cities, with additional teams en route to affected areas, according to the U.N.

CURRENT SITUATION

• Additional humanitarian personnel and relief commodities are arriving in affected areas. Overland access continues to improve due to road-clearing efforts and the reopening of transportation networks. However, logistical challenges to reaching affected communities remain, hindering the international relief effort. Constraints include damaged and blocked roads, the near-complete destruction of the fuel distribution system in some typhoon-affected areas, and a limited availability of vehicles to support end-point distribution.
• To ease airport congestion, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP)—a lead coordinator for humanitarian logistics activities in the Philippines—is establishing a land bridge between Cebu and Tacloban and encouraging the use of newly opened overland routes. WFP is also sourcing additional trucks that will arrive in Tacloban with relief commodities in the coming days and will remain in the area to facilitate the transport and distribution of much-needed supplies to populations in need.
• Security concerns in Tacloban are decreasing due to the deployment of additional AFP troops and police forces to the city. The GPH has declared martial law and imposed a curfew in some towns in Eastern Samar Province, which has helped curb unrest. Despite improvements, the U.N. reports continued incidents of harassment and mobbing of people during relief transport and distributions. WFP is working with the GPH to organize security escorts, where necessary, for humanitarian relief convoys within Tacloban.

USG RESPONSE

• On November 13, USAID/OFDA committed $3 million to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and $3 million to Plan International to support logistics, the distribution of relief commodities, and emergency shelter and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities targeting displaced and vulnerable populations in Samar, Eastern Samar, and Leyte provinces.
• Ongoing DoD flights between Manila and Tacloban continue to facilitate humanitarian activities. On November 13, the DART leader, along with the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires and USAID/Philippines Mission Director, oversaw the unloading of USAID/OFDA-provided relief commodities, including plastic sheeting and hygiene kits, delivered by DoD from Manila to Tacloban. DoD then airlifted the commodities from the Tacloban airport directly out to typhoon-affected communities in Guiuan and surrounding areas for onward distribution.
• DoD has also transported U.N., non-governmental organization (NGO), and GPH commodities and personnel to Tacloban to assist with relief and recovery. DoD flight operations will expand to include regular flights from Tacloban to Guiuan to improve access to more remote areas affected by the typhoon. Return DoD flights are helping to transport Filipinos from storm-affected areas to Manila.
• USAID/FFP emergency food assistance, including rice and wheat bars, is expected to reach populations in Tacloban and other affected areas. In addition, 1,020 metric tons of USAID/FFP Title II in-kind food assistance—sufficient to feed approximately 60,000 typhoon-affected people for up to one month—will arrive in the Philippines in early December.

OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

• As of November 13, donors had pledged nearly $97 million in funding to address humanitarian needs among populations affected by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan. The total amount pledged includes $25 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund, which will be used to provide emergency food assistance, supply emergency shelter and settlement materials and household items, assist with the provision of emergency health services and safe drinking water, and improve access to sanitation facilities for the most vulnerable. The funding will also be used to support critical protection and nutrition activities, as well as humanitarian coordination and information management. The $97 million pledged from 33 countries represents more than 32 percent of the $301 million requested by the U.N. Humanitarian Action Plan for the Philippines typhoon response.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has established a Typhoon Yolanda Response Team and plans to provide immediate relief assistance of more than $23 million—$3 million through the Asia Pacific Disaster Relief Fund and $20 million through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction—to be disbursed on November 14. ADB also reported possible plans to provide $500 million in emergency loans to support post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan.
• Between November 9 and 11, two teams from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) conducted assessments of typhoon-related damages in Leyte and Bohol provinces in the Philippines. The team in Leyte Province reported findings similar to observations by DART members, noting nearly 90 percent of buildings and houses destroyed in visited areas. ECHO also reiterated the primary humanitarian assistance needs identified by the DART, including food aid, shelter support, WASH interventions, and telecommunications and logistical services.