Typhoon Haima, carrying winds up to 160 mph, is expected to make landfall on the island of Luzon in the northern Philippines over the next few hours. This intense typhoon could affect thousands of people, 266 municipalities and seven provinces, with the potential of causing considerable damage.
“The typhoon could cause severe flooding and landslides, and significantly affect harvests, which should begin in a few weeks. The northern Philippines depends on agriculture and the destruction of the plantations would be disastrous for local communities. The typhoon also risks heightening the vulnerability of the population, already hit by Typhoon Sarika on Saturday. More than 8,000 people have been affected,” explains Laura Giani, Asia desk officer for Handicap International.
Tomorrow, Handicap International will travel to Luzon to assess the scale of damage and plan its response, if needed.
Handicap International regularly supplies aid to people affected by natural disasters in the Philippines. The organization works alongside communities and local authorities to help prepare for the risk of natural disasters, and to ensure that vulnerable people–particularly people with disabilities–are not left on the sidelines.
Handicap International ran a major emergency operation in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which affected 14 million people and left 6,000 dead. Over the last two weeks, our emergency response teams have been active in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, following Hurricane Matthew.
More about our work in the Philippines and the latest updates on Haiti.