Philippines Appeal - Typhoon Mangkhut
Act for Peace have launched an appeal to support National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)’s response activities to the impact of Typhoon Mangkhut (locally Ompong) which hit northern Luzon on Saturday 15 September.
It was the strongest storm this year and hit a region already feeling the impacts of monsoonal rains over the last few months. The storm flattened crops just days away from harvesting, triggered fatal landslides, massive flooding and torrential rains cutting off access to many areas still unaccounted for.
The region affected is called the Philippines’ rice bowl and produces 80% of the Philippines rice. This will have a devastating effect on the Philippine economy and household levels of food security and nutrition in northern Luzon and the entire country.
More than 590,000 people are affected, with over 192,000 displaced persons are staying in evacuation centres such as churches and schools, while more than 26,000 people are staying with host families. To date there have been 65 fatalities, which will likely increase.
The main needs are shelter, water supply, sanitation, agricultural recovery, healthcare and non-food essentials such as sleeping mats and mosquito nets.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines is coordinating with the Regional Ecumenical Councils and the national government’s disaster response system in the affected areas. In addition to working with NCCP, Act for Peace will also be assisting in the coordination of the disaster effort with Australian members of the Church Agencies Network Disaster Operations (CAN DO) and DFAT.
Information is still being gathered and a full plan for response will emerge over the coming days.
Give to the Act for Peace Appeal to support NCCP’s response activities
