Home Page Countries Sectors Emergency Assistance Budget (CBJ 2009) Press Room Employment Opportunities
	USAID Assistance to the Philippines USAID's Guide to Effective Giving Center for International Disaster Information ReliefWeb RSS Feed for Philippines Tropical Storm Updates
	10/09/09: Philippines Tropical Storm Fact Sheet #4 [PDF, 56kb] 10/07/09: Philippines Tropical Storm Fact Sheet #3 [PDF, 57kb] 10/05/09: Philippines Tropical Storm Fact Sheet #2 (FY 2010) [PDF, 58kb] 10/02/09: Philippines Tropical Storm Fact Sheet #1 (FY 2010) [PDF, 56kb] 09/30/09: Philippines Tropical Storm Fact Sheet #1 (FY 2009) [PDF, 53kb] RSS Feed for Philippines Tropical Storm Updates
	USAID Information: USAID Country Page More Stories From The Philippines FY 2009 Congressional Budget Justification USAID/Philippines Strategy FY 2005-2009 (PDF) Mission Web Site Selected USAID Reports Photo Gallery: Administrator Natsios visits Mindanao External Links: U.S. State Department Background Notes CIA World Factbook United Nations Development Programme World Bank Group
	Advanced search... Search USAID Personnel... Search USAID Documents...

USAID Assistance to the Philippines

October 13, 2009

Fact Sheet #5, Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 (PDF, 56kb)

BACKGROUND AND KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Workers clean a river full of debris from destroyed houses, caused by typhoon Ketsana in Manila on September 30, 2009. The international community rallied to Manila's appeal for help to avert a humanitarian crisis following the weekend storm that forced 375,000 people into evacuation camps and killed at least 240 people. AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS

• An October 13 USAID/OFDA charter flight delivered relief items, including 20,064 hygiene kits, 50,060 bars of soap, and 20,400 10-liter collapsible water containers to Manila to support relief efforts in the Philippines, in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Manila and Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GoRP) authorities. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) received the commodities and plans to deliver the assistance to more than 20,000 flood-affected families.
• From October 9 to 13, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) assistance included conducting a delivery flight of emergency relief supplies to Batanes Province, northern Philippines, deploying medical teams, and transporting food and relief supplies to affected areas by road and helicopter. DoD plans to have completed direct support to the Philippines relief operation as of October 14, with the exception of a planned flight of 2,400 blankets, 1,344 hygiene kits, 640 kitchen sets, 2,640 vitamin packets, and 15 metric tons (MT) of food items at the request of Samaritan’s Purse on October 16.
• On October 10, a USAID/OFDA field officer deployed with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade accompanied DoD staff on an aerial assessment of affected areas in northern Luzon Island. On October 11, the field officer joined a DoD route survey of a major highway and secondary roads.
• The U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Sir John Holmes arrived in Manila on October 12 to meet with GoRP officials and observe humanitarian response activities during a two-day visit. On October 13, Holmes announced that, based on ongoing needs assessments, the U.N. would revise and possibly increase a $74 million flash appeal to aid storm-affected populations.

CURRENT SITUATION

• According to NDCC, Tropical Storm Ketsana (Ondoy) and Typhoon Parma (Pepeng) have affected more than 6.8 million people, leaving 648 dead, nearly 330,000 people displaced in shelters, and more than 127,400 houses damaged or destroyed as of October 13.
• Tropical Storm Parma departed the Philippines on October 9 after making landfall twice in northern Luzon, bringing heavy rains to a larger area than meteorologists initially anticipated.
• Tropical Storm Parma’s second landfall particularly affected Region I and Cordillera Administrative Region, northwest Luzon, where landslides were the primary cause of death. On October 11, the GoRP Department of Science and Technology reported that floodwaters had begun receding in northern provinces. However, humanitarian agencies indicated that floodwaters may remain standing in the Manila and Lake Laguna areas through December.
• The GoRP Department of Social Welfare and Development of Tarlac city, central Luzon, is coordinating relief efforts in areas affected by Tropical Storm Parma. On October 11, search and rescue efforts continued; however landslides and impassable bridges limited road access.
• On October 11, a 20-person, U.N. Disaster Assessment and Coordination-led joint assessment team began rapid needs assessments in Tarlac and Pangasinan provinces, north and central Luzon, scheduled to continue through October 14.

  Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

• At an October 12 water cluster meeting, the GoRP and humanitarian agencies noted the need for additional latrines in evacuation centers and for systematic solid waste removal.
• As of October 13, the GoRP Department of Health (DoH) has distributed 191 portable toilets to Manila and surrounding areas, with distribution of water disinfectant materials ongoing. The DoH also deployed nine water, sanitation, and hygiene teams to test water quality in strategic sites, including evacuation centers.
• Deployment of GoRP mobile treatment plants to selected sites in affected areas, including in Markina, Laguna, Antipolo, and Binan cities, is ongoing as of October 13.

  Health

• As of October 9, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, infected wounds, and pneumonia represented the primary causes of morbidity, according to the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO). WHO reported that diarrheal disease surveillance systems, case management, and prevention measures require reinforcement in all evacuation centers and flood-affected areas.
• As of October 11, U.N. Health Cluster members, including a Médecins Sans Frontières medical team, were responding to a rise in acute watery diarrhea cases in San Pedro municipality, located southeast of Manila. WHO had provided 20 diarrheal kits, sufficient for treating up to 10,000 cases of the illness, to the DoH and NGOs providing emergency health services in affected areas.
• As of October 13, a DoH immunization campaign resulted in more than 4,000 children vaccinated against measles.

  Food Security and Emergency Food Assistance

• Initial U.N. rapid assessments estimate that 1 million persons may be in need of emergency food assistance in October, according to an October 11 U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report. The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) projects that approximately 500,000 people may continue requiring food assistance in November and December.
• On October 11, the GoRP Department of Agriculture (DoA) reported that the storms’ impact on crops and agricultural facilities had reached $213 million, with an estimated 190,000 farmers affected, 185,763 hectares of rice-farming land damaged, and approximately 12,500 heads of livestock and 84,000 heads of poultry killed. The fisheries sector sustained losses estimated at $4.5 million.
• As of October 11, WFP planned to procure 18,000 tons of rice, 1,400 tons of pulses, 2,000 tons of oil, and 1,130 tons of high-energy biscuits and plans to dispatch the commodities to affected communities as available. WFP has airlifted 105 MT of high-energy biscuits to the Philippines and an additional 200 MT of biscuits is expected on October 16.
• DoA pre-positioning of agricultural inputs including seeds, fertilizers, tools, and fishing equipment has begun based on results of current damage reports. On October 12, a U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization Emergency Response Team began assisting GoRP response to immediate- and medium-term recovery and rehabilitation needs.

USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

• On September 28, U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney issued a disaster declaration due to the effects of Tropical Storm Ketsana. In response, USAID/OFDA provided an immediate $100,000 through USAID/Philippines to the Philippines National Red Cross (PNRC) for the local purchase and delivery of emergency relief supplies. Funding also will support cleanup efforts focused in the Manila metropolitan area.
• On October 8, USAID/OFDA increased its allocation to $3.8 million for emergency grants to humanitarian assistance organizations, including $500,000 to WFP to support special relief operations, under a joint U.N. flash appeal, $500,000 to the American Red Cross (AmRC), $150,000 to IOM, and $100,000 to PNRC. On October 13, USAID/OFDA also announced plans to provide $395,014 to the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), $248,081 to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), $222,953 to Samaritan’s Purse, $175,947 to World Vision/US, and $300,000 to Save the Children/US (SC/US). The remaining funding will be programmed based on ongoing assessments.
• On October 2 and 13, in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Manila and GoRP authorities, two USAID/OFDA charter flights delivered emergency relief items, including 340 rolls of plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, 50,060 bars of soap, 23,424 hygiene kits, and 23,734 10-liter collapsible water containers. PNRC received the commodities from the October 2 flight for delivery to 20,000 flood-affected individuals, and IOM received the October 13 items for issuance to more than 20,000 such families.
• A USAID/OFDA regional advisor and field officer remain in the Philippines to assess flood impacts and facilitate USG assistance, in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Manila and USAID/Philippines.
• In the early stages of the disaster response, DoD Pacific Command provided equipment, transport, and logistics support, including 10 helicopters and 6 Zodiac boats for search and rescue efforts, to aid storm-affected individuals. Engineers and medical personnel were also onsite. DoD conducted daily missions in the Manila metropolitan area, including road clearance and transport of goods and food, as requested by the GoRP and in coordination with USAID/OFDA and the U.S. Embassy in Manila. On October 9, DoD launched search and rescue missions in northern and central provinces affected by water released from dams. A USAID/OFDA field officer deployed with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Luzon from October 9 to 13.

For detailed information on U.S. Government humanitarian assistance to the Philippines, click here

Back to Top ^