Typhoon Haima strikes northern Philippines

It was then expected to cut across neighbouring Apayao Province, where ChildFund recently began working with 514 enrolled children and their families. During late evening on Wednesday, the storm brought heavy rains and strong winds, and damaging waves and storm surge flooding were predicted.

To prepare for Haima’s impact, ChildFund’s national office in the Philippines placed emergency response teams on standby. Emergency kits and Child-Centered Space tents and resources are ready to deploy, and we are in contact with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center, as well as local authorities.

We will provide more details as we receive them.

UPDATE 20 Oct 2016

Last night at about 11 p.m. local time, Typhoon Haima made landfall in the northeastern Philippines as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds. As expected, it then cut across Apayao Province, where ChildFund recently began working with 514 enrolled children and their families.

For now, power and communications there are down, but we do know that most people in this region were evacuated before the storm, and that local governments had prepositioned relief goods ahead of time. ChildFund and its local partners likewise ensured that emergency kits and Child-Centered Space tents and resources are ready to deploy.

ChildFund’s National Emergency Response Team in the Philippines has sent a rapid assessment team to Apayao. The team will connect with our local partner organizations and assess damages and families’ needs, particularly those of children.

We will share further updates as we can.