Philippines: Typhoon Haiyan – help us respond

As super storm Haiyan batters the Philippines, we’ve mobilised our teams and emergency supplies so we can quickly reach the most vulnerable children and their families. Anne Lindenfors, our Philippines director, fears many lives may be lost.

Haiyan is a category five storm packing winds of up to 195 mph along with extremely heavy rainfall and a dangerous storm surge. Category five is the strongest possible typhoon and meteorologists believe Haiyan could be the most powerful storm to ever make landfall.

12 million people are estimated to be in the path of the typhoon. To meet the anticipated needs of children and their families we’ve allocated £18,700 from our Emergency Fund. The Fund enables to respond quickly to disasters.

Please donate to help those affected either online or by phoning 0800 8148 148.

Children especially vulnerable

Anna Lindenfors, Save the Children Country Director for Philippines said:

“We expect the level of destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan to be extensive and devastating, and sadly we fear that many lives will be lost. As the storm batters across the country, homes, schools and offices are being destroyed by the record-breaking winds. The storm surge is causing widespread flooding.

“Children are going to be particularly affected, swept away in floods, hit by falling debris and separated from their families in the chaos. We expect thousands to be left homeless.

“Our priority at this time is to help the children that are being affected. Our teams on the ground were well prepared and we deployed a rapid response team to Tacloban, a heavily populated area where the storm was expected to hit hardest.

“We will be distributing emergency kits for children and families, including toiletries, cleaning items, temporary school tents and education materials.

“Once the typhoon passes, we can have a better idea of the scale of the damage and loss of life. Right now, we just need to do all we can to help the affected children, many of whom are shocked, injured or alone, and hope for all those that are in the storm’s path.”

Experienced responders

The last category five storm to hit the Philippines was Typhoon Bopha in 2012, which caused widespread devastation, uprooting trees, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 1,000 people.

Save the Children has been working in the Philippines since 1981, responding to dozens of emergencies across the country.

We mounted large-scale emergency responses to Typhoon Washi in 2011, Typhoon Bopha and Manila floods last year and most recently to Typhoon Utor in September which pummeled the central island of Luzon, ripping roofs off houses and affecting nearly 400,000 people.

Help us save children’s lives:

Please donate to our Philippines Typhoon Appeal