World Vision sent emergency relief items to Tacloban, province of Leyte, Philippines, after being hit by another strong typhoon while still recovering from last year's typhoon Haiyan.
Typhoon Hagupit showed its wrath on the Philippines province with severely damaged homes, leaving the residents homeless. World Vision Operations Director Jennifer MacCann said many families stayed in the shelter while their homes are being repaired. They need essential items while staying in evacuation areas.
According to the local government, the typhoon caused 100,000 people to stay in evacuation areas. Its strong winds and rain led to landslides, damaging houses and buildings. There are 49 shelter camps across the province with estimated 300,000 people leaving their homes.
"World Vision has started distributing drinking water and hygiene packs and is pulling together emergency kits for more than 50,000 people for this first week of the disaster response," said MacCann on World Vision Australia.
"Up to a million people across the Philippines evacuated in preparation for Typhoon Hagupit. Now many of these people have discovered their homes have been destroyed for a second time in just a year," she said.
People have been staying in schools for shelter and do not have sustainable access to facilities like kitchen and bathrooms. In one of the universities in Leyte, 5,000 people sought refuge.
"We are focusing on the most vulnerable families who will likely stay in the camps for a week or so while fixing their houses again," Ms MacCann said. "Our assessment team identified water and sanitation as a particular need for those in evacuation centres."
Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez commend the population's cooperation for achieving zero death toll rate during the typhoon. However, the province still is experiencing electricity blackout since weekend but made managed to coordinate well with rescue efforts due to uninterrupted mobile service. Public transportation is limited and commercial establishments still are closed.
Amy is a Press Services International Columnist from Adelaide. She has a BA in Creative Writing and Screen & Media, and now works as a freelance photographer, videographer and writer. She was runner-up in the 2018 Basil Sellars Award. Her previous articles can be viewed here: http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/amy-manners.html