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One year after Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) ripped through the Philippines, many are still living in the unsafe ruins of their homes, in tents, or even in pits covered by tarpaulin. Relief agency Medair is providing survivors with safe, resilient housing in underserved remote and rural communities.
In November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan killed 6,000 people, damaged more than 1.1 million homes, and left more than four million people displaced. Hundreds of thousands of families were helped with life-saving aid such as water, hygiene, and shelter support.
Yet the size of the disaster was so overwhelming that, one year on, many are still living in precarious conditions. In Julita, Leyte, where Medair is targeting, local government reports that nearly every house sustained damage. But according to the Shelter Coordination Group, an independent inter-agency committee for Julita, only one in six of these households has received any shelter support to date.
“The Filipino people have shown remarkable resilience and many are on the road to recovery. But there are still people living in tents and make-shift shacks covered with tarpaulin, offering no protection from stormy weather,” said Medair’s Shelter Advisor, Miriam Lopez. “Our focus is on providing durable housing so that these people have a safe and secure place to sleep, live, and raise their families.”
Since the disaster struck, Medair has reached more than 60,000 people with shelters, health and hygiene support.
In Dulag, Leyte, where eight out of 10 homes were damaged or destroyed by Haiyan, Medair has built 600 disaster-resilient houses for 3,000 of the most vulnerable people. This means that child- and female-headed households, senior citizens, and people with disabilities can have safe, long-term housing.
In Julita, as well as in nearby La Paz, Medair is building 1,080 durable, disaster-resilient homes for 5,400 people still living in flimsy structures. These homes have a strong wooden frame, concrete foundation, concealed hurricane straps that tie the house together, and other design elements that enable them to withstand winds of up to 200 km/hour. We are also providing roof materials, including corrugated iron sheets, for a further 1,200 people. Medair employs local engineers, architects, and carpenters to ensure that the design of these homes is robust enough to withstand future storms.
Medair is also giving disaster risk reduction training to communities so they know how to construct stronger houses and how to prepare for future disasters.
“Without our help, these families could be left living in their current conditions, vulnerable to future disasters, poor health and security, and the other effects of living in poor housing,” said Miriam. “Our work will provide adequate, long-term homes for these people who have lost so much.”
Medair responded within 48 hours to the Philippines crisis in November 2013.
For media
Please contact Abigail Woodcock, Press Relations Officer (English) abigail.woodcock@medair.org +41 (0)21 694 84 72 or +41 (0)78 635 30 95.
For enquiries and interviews from the Philippines, please contact Sophie Niven, Communications Officer (English) comms-phl@medair.org; +63(0)9283022304.
Case studies and photos are available upon request.
Medair uses drones to map Typhoon Haiyan recovery efforts
Medair uses drones to create 2D maps of typhoon-devastated areas by merging aerial images taken by the devices of towns severely affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The maps are made available for free online, enabling community leaders and humanitarian organisations to use the information to coordinate reconstruction efforts. The maps can also be used for town planning and hazard mapping.
For more information on Medair’s use of drones, and our partnership with Drone Adventures, click here.
For more information about Medair’s Philippines programme, please click here.
