Typhoon Haima, the most powerful storm to hit the Philippines in three years, made landfall on October 19, displacing more than 90,000 people from their homes. Handicap International staff is traveling to the affected areas to assess the needs of local communities.
The province of Cagayan, in the north of the Philippines, suffered tremendous damage by Typhoon Haima, such as landslides, fallen trees, damaged homes, and destroyed electrical installations.
“Many roads leading to affected areas are now blocked, and we still don’t have a complete picture of the impact of the typhoon," explains Edith van Wijngaarden, director of Handicap International in the Philippines. "The disaster will probably cause significant damage, particularly to farms, such as maize and rice fields. This is also the second typhoon to hit the province of Cagayan in a week, which will increase the vulnerability of the population even further."
A Handicap International emergency specialist is traveling to the affected areas to assess the needs of local communities and planning a response.
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.