2.5 million survivors are in need of immediate food assistance; the risk to malnutrition is extremely high with all water/sanitation/health facilities damaged. There is an urgent need to provide temporary shelter for those displaced and to get food, essential non-food items and clean water to people in the affected areas. CARE and our partners will be focusing on short-term shelter and food insecurity. We aim to reach 150,000 people in 30,000 households as part of our initial relief efforts.
The destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan is catastrophic. CARE aid workers on the ground say the extent of the damage to homes and infrastructure is reminiscent of the damage caused by the 2004 tsunami. An estimated 11.5 million people were affected by the Typhoon and at least 1,798 people are confirmed dead. A total of 670,000 people are currently displaced. More than 2.5 million people need food assistance. Families have gone days without food and are forced to drink contaminated water.
CARE's emergency teams were working with communities even before the storm hit, helping families evacuate and secure their homes in advance of the storm. Since then, we have been working around the clock to address the logistical challenges of getting food and emergency supplies to the affected communities and working with communities to identify those most in need. CARE will be focusing on short-term shelter and food insecurity. We aim to reach 150,000 people in 30,000 households.
"We need to get lifesaving assistance to people now, but we also need to think of their future," said Celso Dulce, CARE Philippines Representative in Manila. "Houses, crops and businesses have been destroyed, schools and roads have been damaged. Our re-sponse will also help people recover for the long term and help re-place what they've lost. Some of the areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan have been previously hit by landslides or earthquakes in the past few years, so they're especially vulnerable."
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
