More than half a million people were evacuated from their homes as Typhoon Rammasun (locally called Glenda) raged through the Philippines earlier this week. The storm – equivalent in strength to a Category 3 hurricane – is responsible for the deaths of several dozen people there.
Early damage estimates from the Philippines government indicate that more than 20,000 homes have been damaged and roughly $14 million of crops were destroyed.
Fortunately, Children International has received no report of deaths or serious injuries among our sponsorship family. More than 8,000 sponsored families – mostly in Legazpi and Tabaco – have been affected by the typhoon. The Philippines government is disbursing emergency assistance, including food items. CI will be providing materials for sponsored families to repair damaged homes through our emergency funds.
It is Children International’s policy to directly contact sponsors if their sponsored child has been significantly affected by a disaster.
We thank you for your compassion and your continued support.
More than 8,000 sponsored families have been affected by Typhoon Rammusan.
A powerful typhoon has cut a wide swath of extensive and widespread damage throughout much of the Philippines.
Thankfully, we have no reports of any significant injuries to sponsored children or their family members at this time.
Children International staff in Manila, Quezon City, Legazpi and Tabaco are all reporting power outages, blocked and flooded roadways, and some damage to homes. Although we have reports of disruption to water supplies in some areas, affected families have access to safe drinking water via a combination of our own water towers and the distribution of potable water.
The Philippines government is disbursing emergency assistance, including food items. Through our emergency fund, CI will be providing materials for sponsored families to repair damaged homes.
Although many of the families who were evacuated in Legazpi and Tabaco have returned to their homes, schools and regular sponsorship activities have been temporarily suspended.
In the coming days, our staff and volunteers will be conducting house-to-house visits to assess the full extent of the damage.
It is Children International’s policy to contact sponsors directly if their sponsored child has been significantly affected by a disaster.
For updates, please check our Facebook page and Twitter feeds. We will also update information here as more details become available.
Strong winds and flooding have caused extensive damage across the island nation of the Philippines.
The Pacific Typhoon season, which typically runs from May to October, spawned the first significant storm to make landfall in the Philippines this year.
Typhoon Rammasun struck the central region of the Philippines Tuesday evening (local time). More than 1,000 families of sponsored children living in flood-prone areas of Legazpi and Tabaco were evacuated before the storm struck.
The local government is preparing relief items, including food and water, for distribution to the evacuees.
Our Crisis Management Team and Mobile Monitoring Team in the Philippines are continuing to monitor the situation and will be conducting assessments of damage and checking on the well-being of children and their families as soon as they are able.
The storm is expected to move toward Manila and Quezon City over the next few hours. There, too, Children International staff and volunteers are closely monitoring the situation.
This is the first typhoon to strike the island nation since Haiyan devastated the same area last November.
If your child has been significantly impacted by Typhoon Rammasun, we will notify you directly.
For updates, please check our Facebook page and Twitter feeds. We will also update here as more detailed information becomes available.
More than 1,000 families of sponsored children living in flood-prone areas were evacuated before the storm struck.
