MANILA, 2 November – There are fears for more than 450,000 children in the Bicol region of the Philippines after being battered on Sunday by reports of the strongest storm of the year to make landfall, warns Save the Children.
Widespread destruction is being reported along parts of Luzon island’s east coast. At least one town has suffered extensive damage, compromising communication lines and access for aid agencies.
Save the Children has sent a team of humanitarian and child protection experts to the affected provinces of Camarines Sur and Albay to conduct a rapid assessment on the impact of Super Typhoon Goni on children and their families.
Aid workers underwent urgent COVID-19 tests prior to travelling, to ensure they were virus-free, further highlighting the new and complex challenges faced by aid agencies during the pandemic.
CEO of Save the Children in the Philippines Alberto Muyot said:
“We are very concerned that entire towns may have been cut off and destroyed during the weekend's storm. It’s vital we do a rapid assessment of the humanitarian needs so that our relief supply lines meet the urgent requirements of children and their families.”
ENDS
Save the Children will have spokespeople on the ground in the coming hours as well as multimedia content.
For interviews contact
Bhanu Bhatnagar
B.Bhatnagar@savethechildren.org.uk
+44 7467 096788
Out-of-hours
+44 7831 650409
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Typhoon Goni is classified as this year’s most powerful storm to hit the Philippines since Haiyan which killed more than 6,300 people in 2013, as a category 5 typhoon.
- Based on initial assessment by the Philippine government, the hardest hit provinces are Catanduanes and Albay. According to their figures, there are 372,653 affected families or 2,068,085 individuals in 12 regions including Bicol region.
- Presently there are 2,039 families sheltering in evacuation centres in Bicol region.
- The province of Catanduanes sustained horrendous impact with 80-90 per cent of houses damaged by the typhoon, particularly those along the coast. Livelihoods have been disrupted and strong winds toppled power and communication lines.
- On Monday, Save the Children Philippines deployed an eight-person humanitarian aid team and child protection experts to the affected provinces of Camarines Sur and Albay to conduct a rapid assessment on the impact of Super Typhoon Goni for children and their families.
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