Manila (26 October 2015) - Typhoon Koppu, locally known as Lando, has brought catastrophic devastation leaving houses destroyed and agricultural land damaged, affecting 2.7 million people in Northern Philippines as of October 26th.
Koppu, which first hit Casiguran, Aurora with maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h near the center and gusts of up to 220 km/h, brought heavy to intense rains and strong winds on October 18th. Most of the affected areas also experienced head-high flooding with thick mud and rocks from the mountains, landslides and flash floods.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), seven regions are badly affected. The official death toll stands at 47 while 83 people were injured and four are missing.
Aid organization CARE immediately deployed an emergency response team in Nueva Ecija and Aurora provinces to conduct damage and needs assessment, as well as provide immediate food assistance to severely affected families in the province of Nueva Ecija.
“We expected it to be strong so we prepared beforehand. We mobilized our team and readied our food supplies to distribute to badly affected families, especially those who lost their belongings and sources of income,” said Tess Bayombong, CARE’s Acting Country Director in the Philippines.
CARE, together with Alalay sa Kaunlaran Inc. (ASKI), provided emergency food packs in seven municipalities in Nueva Ecija.
CARE’s Emergency Coordinator John Tamayo said the primary needs in the most affected areas are food, potable water, plastic sheets for emergency shelter, non-food items (blankets, mosquito nets, flashlights, etc.) and hygiene items (soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, underwear, sanitary napkins etc.). Further, children are in need of psychosocial support due to trauma caused by Typhoon Koppu.
“Most of the houses were affected by chest to head-high floods due to heavy rainfall, overflowed rivers and water released from dams. These also caused flash floods and landslides in disaster-prone areas that wiped out several houses,” said Tamayo.
Meanwhile the NDRRMC estimated 9.88 billion pesos (211 million USD) damage in Northern Luzon for both infrastructure and agriculture with 7.15 billion pesos (153 million USD) damaged to rice crops, 940 million to high-value crops, 23 million to livestock, 385 million to irrigation and 1.29 billion to infrastructure (roads, bridges and flood control).
“We were supposed to harvest rice this 2nd week of November but obviously we lost everything,” a farmer in Nueva Ecija shared.
“We don’t know how to start again. My children only eat sweet potato everyday while we’re still looking for support,” said Marissa Mojar, a coconut farmer in Dipaculao, Aurora.
CARE is currently coordinating with the United Nations OCHA and provincial and municipal disaster risk reduction offices to identify response needs and gaps. CARE is working with local partners ACCORD, ASKI and Cordillera Disaster Response Services in responding to the needs of affected people by Koppu.
CARE has worked in the Philippines since 1949, providing emergency relief when disaster strikes and helping communities prepare for disasters. CARE's past responses in the Philippines have included typhoon Bopha in 2012 and typhoon Ketsana in 2009. CARE is also presently assisting Haiyan-affected communities helping through livelihoods recovery assistance.
Media Contact:
Dennis Amata, Info and Communications Manager, CARE Philippines
Tel: +63 917 510 8150
E-mail: [email protected]