Philippines praised by UN for learning the hard lessons of Typhoon Haiyan and upgrading their disaster response efforts
The Philippines experiences approximately 20 typhoons a year, the most powerful of which hit in 2013, when Typhoon Haiyan claimed 6,300 lives and left 2,000 people unaccounted for.
The UN has praised the Philippines government for its rapid and pre-emptive response to Typhoon Koppu, suggesting that its handling of the disaster should act as a model for other disaster-prone countries.
More than 300 villages were submerged as a result of the typhoon, which hit last Sunday morning and has claimed more than 50 lives. Tens of thousands of people remain in evacuation centres, and the government has reported more than US$13 million worth of agricultural losses, with rice crops taking the biggest hit.
Despite the devastation caused by Typhoon Koppu, however, Margareta Wahlström, the head of the UN office for disaster risk reduction, said other countries could learn from the timely response of the government and local and international NGOs, which mitigated the cyclone’s impact.
Wahlström said: “The Philippines is the most storm-exposed country in the world and its expertise in disaster risk management can be usefully adopted by other countries trying to implement the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction, adopted in March this year as a global blueprint for reducing disaster losses.”
The Philippines experiences approximately 20 typhoons a year, the most powerful of which hit in 2013, when Typhoon Haiyan claimed 6,300 lives and left a further 2,000 people unaccounted for.
Read more: Typhoon Koppu displaces 15,000 people, destroys homes as it slams main Philippines island of Luzon
In Haiyan’s aftermath, the Philippines government and aid agencies placed a renewed focus on disaster risk reduction and preparedness, emphasising the importance of early warning systems, clear evacuation points, pre-positioned aid in remote communities, and public education on safer places to build houses and plant crops.
“The communication of early warnings in the Philippines has improved significantly since Typhoon Haiyan,” said Wahlström. “Government agencies have been successful in reducing loss of life through the effective communication of early warnings and organising targeted evacuations in the areas most affected.”
Wahlström identified a broadcast to the nation by President Benigno Aquino on the Friday evening before the typhoon hit as an important step in preparing people for the arrival of the storm two days later.
Aaron Aspi of World Vision’s Philippines office said that, while the impact of the latest typhoon could have been worse, it would take the country time to recover.
“We are still in the early stage of the response right now, the typhoon has just exited the mainland of northern Philippines and is headed towards the ocean,” said Aspi.
“There is a government effort to clear the roads, the floods are starting to subside in some areas, but in other areas there’s still flooding. Thousands of people are still in evacuation centres, so the recovery is still ahead of us, but the preparedness measures of the government were very helpful in minimising the number of casualties."
Aspi said it was clear the country had learned from the experience of Typhoon Haiyan.
“There have been some great strides in disaster risk reduction since Haiyan, both from the government and from the NGOs. This is especially the case on the advocacy side - the children’s emergency relief and protection act was passed this year and gives greater focus on the protection of children who are very vulnerable during times like these,” he said.
The Philippines government is reviewing its disaster risk reduction law to incorporate more recommendations made following Haiyan and other typhoons.
“The real focus has been making sure communities are at the heart of this preparedness, that’s the only way it can be successful,” added Aspi. “So communities, including children, have been mapping out their areas and pointing out where is a safe place to go and where is not safe. And of course, there is always room for improvement on this, particularly in making sure plans are inclusive and include the knowledge of women as well as the elderly. But we’re definitely making strides.”
