Philippines: Johanniter partners distribute relief supplies after Typhoon Rai
Berlin, 30 December 2021
Johanniter provides 20,000 Euros for emergency relief
The extent of the damage left behind by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines on 16 December is enormous: 378 people in the affected region died, more than 500,000 people had to leave their homes and 61,000 hectares of agricultural land were damaged. While telecommunications, transport, electricity and other services have been restored in some areas, many regions and islands remained inaccessible and cut off at the end of the year.
Relief measures started after project interruption
The Johanniter project region in northern Mindanao was also situated exactly in the path of Rai. "90 percent of the villages in the coastal regions of Surigao Norte were damaged," reported Greggu Uriate, Director of HIPPE, the Johanniter partner organisation in the region. In cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Aktion Deutschland Hilft, Johanniter is supporting nine coastal communities in adapting to climate change. Emergency aid is now underway there.
Together with HIPPE, Johanniter supports 1800 families in 9 barangays along the coast and on small islands of Siargao. "We will support the families with rice, canned food, noodles, water containers and hygiene kits in the coming days," says Athena Banza, Johanniter Programme Coordinator in the Philippines. On 29 December, HIPPE staff started the distribution in the south of Surigao City. In the next few days, the distributions will continue in other regions.
Preventing suffering before it happens
Disaster risk reduction is an important part of our work.