How Are the Children?

It was a scene reminiscent of last year’s Typhoon Washi: women and children weeping in silence and men who were in shock. On Monday, December 3rd, Typhoon Bopha battered the southern Philippines until early Tuesday morning, leaving behind a trail of devastation that particularly affected children.

“We didn’t know what a typhoon was until we were hit,” says Veruela Municipal Social Welfare and Development officer Elvira Dagaraga, shedding tears as she recalls the experience. “Never in my 30 years of living here had we experienced such a thing.”

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Can we talk about poo for a minute?

Let’s talk toilets in an emergency!

Powerful wind, intense rain, massive floods, heavy landslides, deaths...
Houses in the coastal towns of Boston, Cateel and Baganga in Davao Oriental province, the Philippines, were wiped out by Typhoon Bopha (local name: Pablo) that made landfall in the first week of December 2012.

Electric posts were uprooted – along with banana and coconut trees – and mobile phones were reduced to useless gadgets.

In just a span of a few hours, the 3 municipalities were reduced to debris and corpses were lying everywhere.

If I hadn’t personally seen the place, I would have thought it was a scene lifted from one of those end-of-the-world movies. But this is reality, and this happened in Mindanao – an island in southern Philippines that is rarely visited by typhoons.

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Hjælp til Filippinerne

Rundt omkring i verden har vi netop taget hul på et nyt år, og mange ser forventningsfulde frem til, hvad året mon vil bringe. Men for 7-årige Anna fra Filippinerne er der ikke meget håb eller glæde at spotte.

Som så mange andre filippinske familier blev Anna og hendes familie fanget i den voldsomme tyfon Bopha, som ramte Fillippinerne i starten af december. Da familiens hus kollapsede, bragte Annas far den kun 7-årige pige i sikkerhed på en bakketop, hvor naboerne også havde søgt tilflugt. Herefter forsøgte faderen at redde Annas mor og bedstemor i sikkerhed. Men da han rakte armen ud for at hjælpe de to kvinder op på bakketoppen, ramte et stykke flyvende metal kvinderne, som ulykkeligvis døde på stedet. Midt i den kraftige vind og intense regn brød Annas far sammen i sorg.

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Additional Funding Needed in the Wake of Bopha

After Bopha made landfall over the Baganga municipality of Mindanao’s Davao Oriental region on December 4th, it tracked across the island through Compostela Valley, crossing over to Negros Oriental on the island of Negros.

In the aftermath of the typhoon, roads, bridges, telecommunications, and electrical and water systems have been negatively impacted.

As of December 23rd, 6,243,998 people in 711,682 families have been impacted by the storm. In total, 1,067 people have been confirmed killed, 2,666 have been injured, and 841 people are missing. In addition, the typhoon has destroyed over 66,469 homes and has damaged over 178,704. As a result of the devastation, 985,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

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Family Vows to Overcome Typhoon Troubles

Cousins Judith and Judiza Sevilla thought it was just going to be a quick shower; little did they know it was the beginning of Typhoon Bopha.

“We slept through it thinking that it was just another storm and it would soon be over,” said 20-year old Judith.

But after an hour, the gushing winds and continuous rain woke them up at their home in Monkayo, a bustling municipality in the north of Compostela Valley province in eastern Mindanao island, about 750 miles southeast of the capital Manila.

“The wind was very strong and the rain was very loud. I knew it was far from the usual,” said Judiza, 18.

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Rebuilding After Typhoon Bopha

“Please, if there is someone out there, please help us. We need food, clothing and shelter,” says Christolo, 41, as he gets to work rebuilding his house in Sibahay village, Boston municipality, a few days after parts of the Philippines were ravaged by Typhoon Bopha.

“Our five-year-old daughter, Maria, is getting sick because we don't have enough food. We're just eating the coconuts and bananas left by the typhoon. We are tired and no aid has arrived,” he adds, before resuming his hammering and sawing.´


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Tough Times for Young Mothers in the Wake of Bopha

After Typhoon Bopha, known locally in the Philippines as Pablo, relief supplies have been slow to get to affected communities in Mindanao and villagers in some parts have taken to blocking the roads to beg passers-by for food, clothing and shelter.

All along the coast, children beg on the side of the road with hands outstretched. "It’s a difficult time to be a mother with a young baby," says 21-year-old Adora Quirante, mother of six-month-old Aj from San Antonio in Cateel municipality.

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Children Stuggle to Deal with Typhoon Aftermath

“At night when I sleep, I suddenly wake. In my dreams, I visit the nightmare of the people I saw being hurt,” says 12-year-old Alyza Grace. 

Alyza making the attempt to come to terms with what Typhoon Bopha did to her community in Davao Oriental which is located about 590 miles southeast of Manila.

When Bopha ripped through the Philippines earlier this month with winds of up to 162 mph, it unleashed the kind of destruction not seen in those parts for 100 years. Entire communities were destroyed and more than 1,000 people have been confirmed dead.

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Children need shelter and protection after Typhoon Bopha

Plan is helping families piece their lives back together after Typhoon Bopha coursed across the Philippines. About 300,000 people in Davao Oriental on Mindanao have been affected by the typhoon, known locally as Pablo, which ripped through communities with winds of up to 160 mph.

“This typhoon has come right at the end of the Pacific Storm Season, but there are days when it is still raining. Of the houses that are still standing in affected communities, the majority don't have roofs, so homes are open to the elements and it’s harder for families to recover,” says Carin van de Hor, Country Director of Plan Philippines.

Some people are beginning to rebuild their homes, but not everyone has the money or resources to do this. Plan is distributing tarpaulins to families in need so that they can at least cover the gaping holes where their roofs used to be.

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