On 16 Dec 2021, Super Typhoon Rai (Odette) hit the Philippines with very little warning. Although not extensively covered by the international media, the damage across the middle of the country is catastrophic, including to many of our field sites and stakeholder communities.
James, Sam and Emma all safe and sound!
Our teammates in the Philippines are safe and sound, a lucky reprieve as several surrounding towns and cities were devastated. Some of our team waited a week for news of family and friends in areas hit the worst. With little to no news trickling out of these areas, the true scale of this natural disaster has yet to be revealed.
The storm intensified from a tropical storm to a super typhoon in less than 24 hours. Some areas got merely a few hours notice of the strength of the storm. Reports from local officials are estimating the damage may be more than that from super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013.
Relief is needed urgently. The areas hit are in desperate need of basics; drinking water, shelter, food and medicine. The largest loss of life may be yet to come from the aftermath of this disaster.
This is the reality of climate change. Disaster response has significantly improved in the Philippines since Typhoon Haiyan, but readiness will always be compromised if the storms keep getting stronger and faster.
photo credit: @camillerdp via @lokallab / Instagram
The Philippines contributes to only 0.35% of global CO2 emissions, yet finds itself in the company of other vulnerable nations at the forefront of climate impacts. This doesn’t just mean the physical damage to homes and infrastructure. It’s also the trauma of not knowing if one’s family and friends are OK because cell towers are down for weeks, the loss of investment in a farm or house and an uncertain future. It’s short and long-term mental health issues such as survivors' guilt, grief, fight or flight, PTSD and more.
Survivor stories our team has heard so far include thanking mangroves for slowing wind and waves, holding on to the toilet bowl when the roof had gone because it’s the strongest part of the house, trees falling on homes, walking for 54 hours to find food and water.
The trail of destruction from the typhoon continued on to the neighbouring country and another Reef-World teammate’s home, Malaysia. One weekend of rainfall exceeded the average rainfall for a month, causing floods and displacing almost 70,000 people in 8 of 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia. Despite there being preparations for floods since November, no one could have estimated that much rain to come in such a short time.
It has been a very rough year for many, and the whole world is going through rapidly changing covid restrictions affecting holiday plans. But if you can, look for and give what you can to relief efforts in these countries. Any amount will help, even a bottle of drinking water could save someone’s life at this point.
Here’s a list of local efforts directly providing to affected communities in the Philippines.
And finally, if you have felt for the Philippines and Malaysia during this time, please consider climate action and policies when you vote for your next candidate.
Our teammates in the Philippines are helping with in-kind donations and packing bags of relief goods, and we are rounding up donations from friends and family. The typhoon has hit many sites that are deeply personal to our team. We are sending our thoughts and best vibes to those affected. Salamat kaayo and terima kasih for your support!