OCHA Situation Report
The Philippines: Typhoon
5 December 2006


This situation report is based on information received from the 
Philippines National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), the 
Philippines National Red Cross (PNRC) and the UN Resident Coordinator's 
Office (UN RC).

I. SITUATION

1. Typhoon Durian ("Reming" in the Philippines) has moved out of the 
Philippines and no longer poses a threat to the country.

2. NDCC reported 526 people confirmed dead, 740 missing and 1000 injured 
with a total of 1,543,778 people affected in 125 municipalities and 10 
cities spread through 13 provinces.

3. A total of 16,952 families or 82,915 people have sought refuge in 29 
different evacuation centres.

4. Latest reports from the affected areas indicate that 76,247 houses 
were totally destroyed while 153,872 were partially damaged.  As of this 
report, damage to properties was estimated to be over PhP 608 billion 
comprising of infrastructure damages (PhP 357 billion) and agricultural 
losses (PhP 251 billion).

5. The main roads in the affected provinces have been cleared however 
widespread power and communications outages remain in most affected 
areas; disruption of water supply also remains a major concern.

II. NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

6. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national 
calamity on 3 December 2006, and authorised the release of one billion 
Philippine Pesos to fund relief and rehabilitation efforts sustained 
from the onslaught of three successive typhoons - TY Milenyo (Xangsane), 
TY Paeng (Cimarron) and TY Reming (Durian). The President is visiting 
today the most affected areas.

7. Search and relief activities are still ongoing.

8. Please see below a table summarising relief assistance received, 
according to NDCC.

|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Source  |                         Assistance                          |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|AusAid    |AUD 1 million                                                |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|Canada    |CAD 1 million ($500,000 thru the International Federation of |
|          |Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to assist with emergency|
|          |and temporary shelter, non-food items, water and sanitation; |
|          |$500,000 thru the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives to       |
|          |support local organisations in facilitating the recovery of  |
|          |affected households and addressing future disaster           |
|          |preparedness needs)                                          |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|Indonesia |2 C-130 military aircraft arrived in Legaspi City with 25    |
|          |tons cargo with: 8 tons assorted medicines; 4 tons infant    |
|          |food; 20,400 kgs food, canned goods and sardines; 6,000      |
|          |bottles sweet soy sauce; 6,000 bottles chilli sauce; 1,800   |
|          |bottles cooking oil; 200 boxes instant noodles; 290 boxes    |
|          |oatmeal; 1,100 cartons biscuits; and, clothing such as 3,000 |
|          |pcs women, 3,000 pcs children and 3,000 pcs men's wears      |
|          |valued at IDR 1,168,614,840 (PhP 6,310,520.14)               |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|JICA      |JPY 20,000,000 or PhP 9.0 M (tents, blankets, generators,    |
|          |water tanks/containers)                                      |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|Malaysia  |1 C-130 load containing about 20 tons of emergency relief    |
|          |supplies (medicines, food and non-food items)                |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|Republic  |USD 100,000 cash for humanitarian assistance to the ongoing  |
|of Korea  |relief and rescue efforts                                    |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|Saipan    |Cash donations and 20-foot container consisting of food and  |
|(Filipino |clothing which will be arriving this afternoon               |
|Community)|                                                             |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|Singapore |Relief supplies (food, tents, blankets, sleeping bags and    |
|          |medicines) arrived in two batches via Singapore Airlines     |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|Telecoms  |Two delegates will be deployed to Catanduanes for the        |
|Sans      |establishment of back-up communications in the area          |
|Frontiere |                                                             |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|UNICEF    |Led UN inter-agency assessment team to Albay on 5 December   |
|          |and provided 4,000 family packs consisting of rice, canned   |
|          |goods, mattress, blankets) and medicines                     |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|UN-OCHA   |USD 1 to 2 million for the local purchase of emergency relief|
|          |supplies                                                     |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|
|USAID     |USD 250,000 as immediate cash assistance to relief           |
|          |organizations to procure emergency commodities such as       |
|          |blankets, mosquito nets, plastic mats, cooking utensils and  |
|          |to help finance the distribution of seeds to families whose  |
|          |crops were damaged by the typhoon as food for work program in|
|          |Albay and further support local government efforts to clear  |
|          |roads and drainage infrastructure of debris                  |
|          |A relief flight carrying US provided supplies such as plastic|
|          |sheeting for shelter, water containers and family hygiene    |
|          |kits is also expected later this week                        |
|----------+-------------------------------------------------------------|


9. Clearing operations of secondary and tertiary roads by government 
engineering units are ongoing; local search and retrieval teams have 
been deployed in areas hit by landslides and mudflows; inter-agency 
needs assessments by national agencies are still ongoing.

10. Priority action for NDCC at this stage includes rapid damage and 
needs assessments, search and retrieval of dead and sustaining relief 
operations.

11. A UN inter-agency assessment team has been deployed in Albay 
province.

12. The IFRC has despatched a FACT team to support the PRCS to assess 
the situation in the disaster-affected areas.

13. The UNRC is in close contact with the NDCC and has offered the UN's 
full support in facilitating international assistance to respond to the 
emergency relief and recovery needs of the devastated areas following 
the government's declaration of a state of national calamity.

IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSISTANCE

14. The Philippines Government also announced its readiness to accept 
offers of assistance from foreign governments, aid agencies and the 
United Nations. The priority needs according to NDCC are:

a. Water - Provision of drinking water and water purifying tablets
b. Health - Medical teams, social workers and medicines
c. Food - Relief goods such as rice, noodles, sardines etc
d. Non-food - Blankets, mattresses,
e. Emergency shelter - Tents, tarpaulins
f. Logistic and comm. - Generator sets


15. NDCC has stated that there is no need for international search and 
rescue teams. It is also noted that relief items are available in 
country and can be purchased locally and capacity can also be mobilised 
locally.

16. This situation report, together with the information on 
contributions and other ongoing emergencies, is also available on the 
OCHA Internet Website at http://www.reliefweb.int.


Tel.:  +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
  Ms. Paola Emerson direct Tel. +41-22-9171613

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs direct Tel. +41-22-917 2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker direct Tel. + 1-917 367 5126

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