Replenishment follows six major storms hitting area in one month
Following the aftermath of recent storms in the Philippines, ShelterBox is now turning its attention to replenish its in-country aid – so it can be ready to respond to the next disaster.
The charity explains that the Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, affected by extreme weather, earthquakes and active volcanoes.
‘We have used a lot of the aid we had stored in our warehouse in Cebu, so now it’s time to regroup, restock and prepare for the next time we are needed,’ says Marilou Pia, Country Manager at ShelterBox Operations Philippines.
Millions of people have been displaced and hundreds of thousands of homes are destroyed or damaged every year by extreme weather in the Philippines, which has around 20 tropical storms annually.
The Bicol region of Luzon was badly affected by the extreme weather. Image provided by ShelterBox.
The international disaster relief charity ShelterBox has supported almost 25,000 people whose homes lay in the path of a series of typhoons that devastated the Philippines.
The Westcountry-based charity, which specialises in emergency shelter after disaster or conflict, was one of few organisations to respond after six major storms made landfall in less than a month.
The Philippines is battered so frequently by severe storms that ShelterBox pre-positions aid in the country and has a team based there permanently.
It means the charity, which has worked in the Philippines more than 30 times, was well prepared to respond quickly to support people affected by Tropical Storm Trami and Super Typhoon Man-yi.
‘Massive impact on several provinces’
‘The super typhoons had a massive impact on several provinces, so to serve more people whose homes were damaged or destroyed as quickly as possible, we launched two responses simultaneously,’ explains Marilou.
‘Repairing and rebuilding shelters can be expensive. It means people are doing what they can, using whatever items they can salvage from their damaged houses before the next bad weather comes.’
‘This support should give people a foothold to rebuild faster and with better materials that will help keep their homes watertight for longer.’
While people do what they can to repair their homes by using salvaged materials after a disaster like this, it’s often not enough to prevent water from getting in.
Emergency shelter aid included corrugated iron sheeting tarpaulins and tools. Image provided by ShelterBox.
To support people to repair and rebuild their homes, ShelterBox has just finished distributing aid including corrugated iron sheets, hurricane strapping, tarpaulins, rope, and tools to people most in need.
Better quality tarpaulins can be used as walls or as roof to keep the rain, wind, and wildlife like snakes out, and protect what belongings people have left. The charity works as flexibly as it can so that people get the aid items they need most.
That means solar lights for communities that don’t have a stable electricity supply, mosquito nets in areas known to have Dengue fever, and blankets so people can keep warm at night.
A small amount of cash for people most badly affected means that families can buy new materials and hire skilled local labourers to rebuild homes.
UK team assisting ShelterBox Operations Philippines
ShelterBox supported the most affected communities in the Bicol Region of Luzon with a small surge team from the UK deploying to assist ShelterBox Operations Philippines. They were supported by the local government and Rotary.
The charity also helped people in the province of Catanduanes and in a separate project in Camarines Sur partnered with a local organisation called the Federation of Associations for Communities and Children’s Empowerment Inc (FACE Inc).
‘When storms happen one after the other, it overwhelms communities and makes it harder for governments to respond effectively. We see this in responses around the world,’ says ShelterBox response team member, Martin Strutton.
‘People don’t have time to recover from one storm before the next one is upon them. And the need for emergency shelter that can withstand future storms becomes more important than ever,’ explains Martin who’s just returned from the Philippines.
As well as the Philippines, ShelterBox is responding in the Middle East supporting people displaced by conflict in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
It’s also supporting people uprooted from their homes by conflict and the climate crisis in Ethiopia, Somalia, Cameroon, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Sudan.