Severe Tropical Storm Trami (Kristine)

The Philippines is facing an exceptionally challenging typhoon season, with successive cyclones reaching unprecedented locations and scales. Over the last three weeks, three consecutive cyclones have affected nearly 9 million people. At the peak of displacement, over 700,000 individuals were reported to have left their homes for temporary refuge in evacuation centres, informal settlements and hosted by relatives and friends. The number of casualties has risen with 160 reported deaths, 135 injured and 21 missing (Source: Tropical Cyclones and Floods Humanitarian Needs and Priorities issued on 12 Nov 2024).

Three weeks after STS Trami, humanitarian needs continue to unfold, and relief efforts are required. Some communities are still underwater and the upcoming typhoons expected this month will further exacerbate their situation.

In line with our protection mandate and our operational presence, UNHCR Philippines is working closely with local authorities and partners, rushing to deliver crucial aid and providing protection services to displaced communities in areas affected by the back-to-back typhoons.

PROTECTION NEEDS

• Based on Humanitarian Country Team (HCT)’s consolidated assessments, the hardest hit communities can be found across Region 5 and 4A, where protection support is one of the identified key priority needs on the ground.
• The displacements have exposed individuals to heightened protection risks, particularly for women, children and persons with disabilities.
• Key protection concerns are related to access to livelihood assistance, basic needs such as WASH facilities, including adequate facilities in evacuation centers and non-food items such as hygiene kits, dignity kits, sleeping kits and issuance of lost and damaged documentation. Overcrowding in ECs also raises protection and health concerns, particularly for women, children, and vulnerable groups. Lack of partitions and walling in covered courts used as ECs result in exposure to external elements such as rain and strong winds and to Gender-based Violence (GBV) due to lack of privacy.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE UPDATES

“We couldn’t bring anything with us, but we are grateful that our family is safe and intact.”

This was a common sentiment shared by displaced families during site visits conducted by UNHCR Philippines in Batangas province, where many municipalities are still reeling from the aftermath of successive typhoons.

To ensure that no one is left behind, UNHCR Philippines continues to support the government in its emergency response, providing technical support on protection coordination and mainstreaming, and advocating for the protection of displaced families and individuals forced to flee their homes amidst the typhoon season.

With the onslaught of back-to-back typhoons, the most vulnerable are exposed to further risks and harm, especially children, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. © UNHCR/Karen Cepeda

In an evacuation center in Talisay, Batangas, UNHCR checks on the situation of internally displaced persons and asks them about their protection concerns. © UNHCR/Karen Cepeda

UNHCR consults Mayor Lyndon Bruce on the protection needs of displaced families and individuals in the municipality of Laurel, one of the hardest-hit towns in Batangas province in the aftermath of STS Trami. © UNHCR/Karen Cepeda

UNHCR consults with staff at an evacuation center in the village of Gulod in Laurel, Batangas. © UNHCR/Karen Cepeda

UNHCR's Emergency Response Team coordinates with the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office in Region 4A on the conditions of communities that have been displaced by STS Trami. © UNHCR/Karen Cepeda

UNHCR meets with Mayor Nestor Natanauan of Talisay town in Batangas to offer technical assistance in protection coordination, information management, and protection mainstreaming, and to gather information on the protection needs of the families and individuals who have been displaced by STS Trami. © UNHCR/Karen Cepeda

Three weeks after STS Trami, the devastation from successive typhoons continues to impact Laurel and several other municipalities in Batangas province. © UNHCR/Karen Cepeda

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