* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Alert
Philippines
Super Typhoon Hagupit threatens Philippines
Geneva, 4 December 2014
1. Brief description of the emergency and impact
Typhoon Hagupit (known locally as Ruby) is further intensifying as it moves west northwest towards Eastern Visayas as per the latest weather bulletin from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). As of 4:00 p.m. today (4 December), Hagupit was 720 km east of Surigao City in Surigao del Norte province with maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h near the centre and gusts of up to 240 kph. Hagupit is projected to be 360 km east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar Friday afternoon and will make landfall over the Eastern Samar-Northern Samar area in the afternoon of Saturday, 6 December 2014.
The ACT Philippines Forum members met last night (3 December) for a briefing on the situation, emergency planning and coordination. A master list of staff and local partners was prepared including resources available and circulated to all ACT members in the Philippines. All staff are on alert and set to conduct rapid assessments and initial emergency response.
2. Why is an ACT response needed?
ACT members in the Philippines (the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Christian Aid (CA), Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), HEKS, Church World Service (CWS), ICCO Cooperation, Finn Church Aid (FCA) and Lutheran World Relief (LWR)) are all operational in areas that are threatened by Typhoon Hagupit and hence well placed for speedy assessments and immediate initial response.
3. National and international response
Yesterday, 3 December, the Government’s emergency response clusters were convened in preparation for the typhoon and government line agencies are pre-positioning goods in areas threatened by the typhoon in central Philippines. Pre-emptive evacuation of people along coastal areas is a priority according to government officials. In Region VIII (areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan), humanitarian partners are supporting local authorities in mapping evacuation centres and movement of Typhoon Haiyan-affected people still living in tents.
4. ACT Alliance response
ACT members in the Philippines, DKH along with NCCP attended the initial UN OCHA briefing in Tacloban and will continue to attend such meetings. Other ACT members in Manila will ensure participation in meetings called in Manila. Norwegian Church Aid is currently preparing to release pre-stocked WASH equipment and ready to call in personnel should the need arise.
The situation is being closely monitored by all ACT members in the Philippines and timely sharing of information will be ensured through the ACT Co-ordination Centre (ACC) to the Secretariat and other members of ACT.
5. Planned activities
ACT members will be sharing their plans through an ACT Alliance e-portal for all donors and members active in the area to consult and plan accordingly.
Depending on how the situation develops, an ACT Appeal will be forthcoming. More reliable information will be available tomorrow, 5 December.
6. Constraints
Communities directly in the path of this typhoon are still recovering from super typhoon Haiyan that hit the area in November 2013. Already vulnerable communities are going to be hit again by a super typhoon and will be in urgent need of efficient and effective emergency response.
Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to the Head of Finance and Administration, Line Hempel (Line.Hempel@actalliance.org).
