January 27, 2022 8:00 PM ET
Written by: Lunas GHN Volunteer Researcher
Last month, in December 2021, super typhoon Odette crossed the southern and central Philippines, causing devastating damage to infrastructure and communities when it slammed into the country.
Typhoon Odette: Where and When it Hit
Typhoon Odette made its first landfall in Siargao Island on the 16th of December, 2021. It was the 15th storm to hit the Philippines that year and the strongest one yet. Classified as a super typhoon, it sustained winds of 120 mph and gusts of up to 168 mph – comparable to a category 5 storm in the United States. The Visayas and Mindanao regions in southern and central Philippines were largely affected by the typhoon. While most typhoons lose their destructive power after first making landfall Odette maintained its strength while sweeping across the archipelago.
About 7.4 million people were affected by the storm, including 402 reported dead, 1,200 injured, 78 missing, and 370,000 displaced according to the Philippine Civil Defense Office’s latest tally. The Filipino people in the affected regions already faced a lack of proper shelter and access to resources in the aftermath of the storm, but these communities continued to experience additional days of rain, increasing the risk of landslides & flash floods, and exacerbating the devastating impacts of Typhoon Odette.
Climate Catastrophe
The Philippines is one of the most typhoon-prone countries in the world, experiencing an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year. 70% of all cyclones in the region are formed in or enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), the land and sea region monitored by the Philippines government for weather events. Typhoons with enough force to reach the archipelago cause catastrophic damage to local infrastructure, forcefully displacing and killing anywhere from hundreds to thousands of Filipinos, as seen with Odette. But even those that dissipate before making landfall interfere with local weather patterns, causing heavier rainfall and leading to flash floods, landslides, and other events that uproot Filipino people's daily lives and livelihoods.
The deadliest typhoon in modern Philippine history,Typhoon Yolanda, is estimated to have killed more than 6,000 and displaced more than four million people in 2013. Unfortunately, the government was slow to repair the damage: a study found that, a year and a half after the typhoon hit Eastern Visayas, still only 32% of families were able to cover their basic survival needs, compared to 82% before the calamity. The inadequate response by the Philippine government to repair communities previously hit by typhoons only worsened community preparedness for future disasters, thus locking them in a cycle of destruction and poverty.
To make matters worse, tropical cyclones around the world are expected to intensify in the coming years. The Western Pacific is no exception. In 2015, PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) added a new category to its storm warning system: Level 5: Super Typhoon, in order to account for the “increasing number of extremely damaging typhoons that enter the country.” Indeed, in the last decade, the Philippines has seen the most intense typhoons since 1955. Three factors explain this increased severity:
Warming seas provide more heat energy to cyclones as they gain strength over the Pacific Ocean.
Rising air temperatures allow typhoons to hold more moisture, resulting in heavier rainfall.
Storm surges, the flooding that accompanies cyclones, are worsened by sea level rise, which is occurring at an above-average rate in the Philippines.
Along with other environmental hazards such as tsunamis, the general effects of sea-level rise, and drought, the threat of more vicious typhoons places the Philippines in the top ten countries in the world at risk of the effects of climate change. Typhoon Odette is a stark reminder of the visceral effects of decades of carbon emissions on marginalized communities worldwide.
Response and Aid
To date, the Philippine government has been unsuccessful in sourcing money to help communities affected by the Typhoon. In a press conference held in Puerta Princesa, Palawan, President Rodrigo Duterte was forced to apologize due to public outcry against the government’s delayed disaster response. Although he promised to allocate Php 10 billion to the victims, most of these funds remain unaccounted for. As a result of the Philippine government’s inaction and the local government’s lack of resources, NGOs, Nonprofits, and grassroots organizations have taken initiative to provide essential relief.
One such group is the United Nation’s food assistance program, The World Food Programme Organization (WFP), which significantly improved the government’s typhoon response efforts by providing food to vulnerable populations, particularly those who have been struggling with COVID prior to Odette. The WFP also strives to provide other resources such as cash transfers and telecommunication needs. Although the organization has estimated that about $25.8 million is needed, a total of only $4.7 million has been raised through international aid from the US, Ireland, Australia, and Brazil, along with other private sector organizations. With these limited funds, the the WFP was able to secure 113 trucks carrying more than 129,000 family food packs as well as other relief items such as hygiene and sleeping kits. In some areas where power and communication lines were damaged, they have provided support with the installation and operation of rapidly deployable emergency shelters, devices, and vehicles. Together, the Philippine government and the WFP’s response have proven inadequate to address the vast need for relief and rehabilitation in the archipelago.
Smaller, grassroots organizations have also made efforts to help the victims. Balsa Mindanao has been reporting and advocating the work that they have done on their website and facebook page to gain support from other community members and organizations. They have given a 1,000-Watt Mobile Solar Package to local partners in Surigao with the capability to charge solar lamps and about 150 cell phones for emergency communication. Volunteers have also assembled in Surigao to distribute relief packages for 1,000 families. The organization has even partnered with the Sisters Association in Mindanao (SAMIN), a religious organization, to help spread hope and encouragement to affected communities. Work on the ground by organizations like Balsa Mindanao are often only possible through committed networks nationally and internationally. In the absence of sufficient government aid, it is imperative that we support grassroots organizations dedicated to uplift, strengthen, and sustain calls to action within their communities.
The Struggle for Health
Before Typhoon Odette, rural and impoverished communities in the Philippines already faced an uphill battle in claiming their right to healthcare. Under day-to-day conditions in rural areas, many of the top causes of death are poverty-related and preventable, including tuberculosis, diarrhea, and malnutrition, spurred by unhygienic living conditions and a lack of proper healthcare facilities. In the aftermath of the typhoon, major disruptions to infrastructure only worsened this picture. A lack of access to clean water and the destruction of healthcare facilities have led to an outbreak of diarrhea in the Dinagat Islands and Siargao that has already killed nine. Furthermore, due to inadequate food assistance, affected areas are now facing widespread malnutrition.
Inside evacuation centers, the threat of COVID-19 looms heavy as refugees occupy cramped spaces that leave little room for physical distancing. In Surigao, a sports complex houses evacuated families sleeping right next to one another; Oxfam reports some centers have rooms hosting as many as four families; inadequate facilities and a lack of clean water make hand-washing and sanitizing difficult. The risk of transmission in these centers is astronomically high. The Philippines is now seeing the highest daily average of new COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic, an outbreak that is likely being fueled by these conditions.
The appalling lack of access to healthcare, hygiene, and adequate evacuation centers seen in communities battered by the typhoon are a direct result of state negligence and global socioeconomic inequity. Communities in Visayas and Mindanao deserve support in facing calamities such as super typhoons and deadly pandemics–both of which are worsening with every passing year thanks to human-induced global warming and climate change. These inadequacies highlight the importance of networks such as Lunas Global Health Network to raise awareness about the current health situation in the Philippines. To do so, we must recognize the intersections of public health and climate change, and how they directly impact the wellbeing of communities around the world.
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