Typhoon Ketsana: Philippines

Oxfam is there

Oxfam launched an emergency response to respond to the devastating floods caused by the successive typhoons that hit the Philippines in September and October 2009. Hundreds of people lost their lives and thousands lost their homes and livelihoods.

Over a six month period, Oxfam provided support to 125,000 of the worst affected people in the provinces of Laguna, Rizal focusing on:

• Improving access to water and sanitation facilities,
• Promoting good hygiene practices,

• Providing cash grants to increase access to necessary basic items, and aiding the early recovery of livelihoods.

Our response included distributing thousands of hygiene kits, with the help of our local partners based in the region, to provide those affected with items such as water storage containers, sleeping mats, soap, and clothes. Oxfam also supported household water treatment, building emergency communal latrines and washing areas, and constructing elevated walkways over the floodwaters.

Because of the high risk of waterborne disease, our public health team worked with government and community workers to distribute special hygiene leaflets and running public health awareness sessions. Distributions of small cash grants also took place to help affected families get back on their feet.

On film: Oxfam distribution

An integrated response

Oxfam’s integrated water, sanitation and hygiene response aimed to reduce public health risks by ensuring vulnerable people had access to potable drinking water, adequate sanitation facilities, access to, and use of, essential basic hygiene materials, and increased information on improved hygiene practices as well as the ability to live in a cleaner environment.

In addition, by integrating an emergency food security and livelihoods component to our response, Oxfam’s programme had a greater impact in reducing suffering and enabling targeted communities to recover more quickly from the floods. This was carried out through the distribution of cash grants to affected households, in varying amounts and phases, to assist the most vulnerable in meeting their basic needs and re-establishing income generating activities.

Our response had a strong focus on gender and protection issues, especially focusing on the rights of female-headed households, children, disabled persons, and the elderly. We are also working with local community groups to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable people affected are voiced and met by those responding to the emergency.

This was also a strong advocacy component to our response, to increase awareness on disaster preparedness, and to draw attention to key issues such as the rights of ‘informal settlers’, who have been one of the worst affected parts of society.

Learn more: East Asia Disasters Appeal

Oxfam's emergency response in the Philippines is supported by DFID, CIDA, OFDA, SIDA, DEC and UNICEF.

The situation

Almost 5 million people were affected by the floods, which destroyed thousands of homes. Many people were forced to seek refuge in Evacuation Centres and Temporary Relocation Sites, whilst others remained in their homes surrounded by flood waters.

Photo gallery: Philippines emergency response

In Manila, as much rain fell in six hours when Typhoon Ketsana hit as would normally fall in a whole month. This caused heavy flooding across the city, and prompted the opening of the flood barriers in the two main rivers flowing into nearby Laguna Lake. With no way to drain itself, the lake level rose rapidly and continues to remain high, submerging many of the poorest communities living along the lake shores.

Reports indicated that floodwaters might not recede for up to six months, due to a lack of short-term solutions for draining Laguna Lake and the threat of more typhoons affecting the region over the next two months.

The government is also starting to move people from Evacuation Centres (most of which are schools) to Temporary Relocation Sites with even more limited water and sanitation facilities, in order for schools to re-start lessons.

On film: New year, new hope

Many of the affected population lost their homes and livelihoods, making it particularly hard for them to start rebuilding their lives. There have been increasing cases of leptospirosis, acute watery diarrhea and other water-borne diseases, the risk of which is high due to the lack of access people have to clean water and sanitation facilities. Cases of upper respiratory tract infections, skin and other fungal infections are also on the rise due to people living in submerged conditions.

Without rapid emergency water, sanitation and hygiene promotion interventions, there were very real risks of increasing morbidity and mortality rates amongst flood affected communities.