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Children’s charity Plan International is stockpiling supplies for up to 15,000 people bracing themselves for the arrival of another potentially devastating typhoon in the Philippines.
Typhoon Hagupit, known locally as Ruby, is expected to make landfall on Saturday – following an almost identical path to the one taken by Haiyan just over a year before, which killed more than 6,200 people and affected millions more.
While not as strong as Haiyan, the latest storm is still expected to cause significant damage to properties and agriculture and could affect up to 4.5 million people. As well as water and hygiene kits, Plan is positioning tarpaulin sheets to provide emergency shelter for 5,000 people if required.
Concerns remain that many of those displaced by Haiyan last year are living in temporary accommodation that may not be able to resist the winds.
“Another typhoon is the last thing that they need,” says Carin van der Hor, Plan International’s Country Director in the Philippines.
“Though children in these areas have become more aware and prepared for storms, they remain worried and fearful of the catastrophic aftermath of such calamities,” she adds.
In the wake of Haiyan, Plan has been working with communities to help them prepare for future disasters.
“We are monitoring Typhoon Hagiput and have emergency response teams ready on the ground to make a quick assessment and can guide if there is a need to respond, and if so, how best we can do that,” says Ms van der Hor.
“We know from our experience that when disasters hit, they always hit the most vulnerable the hardest.
“Children are always badly affected by disasters like this, so we always work to ensure that girls, boys, and their caregivers are prioritised for immediate assistance,” she says.
Plan helped more than 1.3 million people in 1,300 villages across the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan hit last year.
The charity has worked in the Philippines for more than 50 years and is one of the longest-serving aid organisations in the country.
For more information on Plan’s work or to make a donation call 0800 526 848 or visit www.plan-uk.org
