Philippines: HI teams on high alert for Typhoon Mangkhut
HI's teams are ready to face the aftermath of super typhoon Mangkhut. Thousands of people have already been evacuated.
Super typhoon Mangkhut (Ompong) about to hit the Philippines | © Blogcyclone
“The consequences of such a super-typhoon might be immense.
Even tough state services are solid, they might get quickly overwhelmed”Reiza Dejito, director of HI in the Philippines
“As the current path of the storm is now projected to directly pass over the northernmost mainland provinces in Regions I and II, the affected population is expected to increase. We anticipate the impact to be similar to Typhoon Haima (locally called Lawin) in 2016, with the greatest damages to agricultural crops and houses”.
HI teams on high alert
“My teams are on high alert and ready to support the most vulnerable, particularly impacted during such a catastrophe. Houses in the poorest areas of Philippines, made of wooden walls and roofs made of coconut palm leaves, are particularly at risk of being damaged. But the common occurrence during typhoons is indeed injuries due to flying iron sheets.
On the HI side, we plan to send a rapid assessment team after the typhoon leaves the Philippine area of responsibility. With the current resources that we have, we plan to provide hygiene kits to at least 2 000 households.”
HI regularly works with people affected by natural disasters in the Philippines, including by enhancing the disaster preparedness and resilience of communities. Among other activities, the organisation launched a large-scale response following the passage of Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which affected more than 14 million people and claimed more than 6,000 lives.
