OCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Published purpose

November 19, 2013 – On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) made landfall in the Philippines, killing a reported 3,976 people and affecting 12.9 million people in 41 provinces. Some four million people have been reported as displaced from their homes and are seeking shelter in evacuation centres or with host families. This number is expected to rise. The typhoon caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the hardest-hit areas, making it very challenging to access affected people with emergency assistance. The latest reports indicate that the typhoon destroyed more than one million homes and that electricity and water systems are not functioning in many affected areas. The Government of the Philippines has identified the most significant needs as safe drinking water, shelter, food, medical assistance, and support to ensure adequate hygiene and sanitation. With DFATD’s support, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is coordinating the humanitarian relief operations for the typhoon, in cooperation with the Government of the Philippines and other humanitarian partners. Some project activities include: (i) establishing hubs to help the Government of the Philippines and the humanitarian country team to better coordinate the humanitarian assistance efforts; (ii) supporting authorities (through the humanitarian country team and on the request of the government) to orient local actors on the cluster system, which coordinates groups of humanitarian organizations working in the main sectors of humanitarian action to ensure that the assistance provided is adequate and appropriate; (iii) establishing mechanisms to improve two-way communication between the humanitarian community and the typhoon-affected people to ensure that the humanitarian efforts meet people’s real needs; and (iv) enhancing analysis of the situation in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in order to better understand the most immediate and important needs of typhoon-affected people.