WUNRN
TYPHOON HAIYAN – THE PHILIPPINES – NOVEMBER 2013
1 month after Typhoon Haiyan
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There Is No Quick Fix for
Disaster-Induced Displacement: The Evolving Reality of Post-Typhoon Haiyan –
Women & Children
In November of 2013,Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the
Philippines, leaving some 4 million people internally displaced in its wake. A
joint report produced by IDMC (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre) and the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) exposes the limits of the common
assumption that when people are displaced by disasters, their situation is
temporary and they return home within short periods of time. The report
highlights the complexity of the displacement dynamics in the Philippines,
where the recovery and resettlement process remains an ongoing challenge for
most, and where key information gaps leave some of the most vulnerable people
invisible.
Today, we have months’ worth of evidence
from a dynamic and rapidly evolving – and persisting - displacement crisis,
involving multiple locations, types and phases of movement of people displaced
by the Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines.
According to government data, only 2.5
per cent of over 4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) found shelter in
evacuation centres, as most people created makeshift and spontaneous
settlements, were accommodated in transitional bunkhouses and tent cities, or
dispersed to stay with host families or in private accommodation. In the
initial phase of the crisis, thousands fled the worst affected regions, with
many heading to Manila and other cities.
There’s no quick fix for disaster
displacement
When sudden-onset disasters strike, most
displaced people tend to stay close to their original homes, returning to
rebuild their lives as soon as they can. While most displaced people in the
Philippines have remained in, or returned to, their home areas, experience
shows that return does not necessarily provide a long-term solution to
displacement. A complex set of vulnerabilities point to the reality of
prolonged displacement following the destruction caused by Haiyan.
In addition to pre-emptive and rapid
flight as the typhoon approached and made landfall, a main cause of the
initial displacement was the severe damage to more than 1.1 million houses -
about half of them completely destroyed - leaving millions of people without
shelter.
The scale and severity of this and other
damage to community infrastructure increases the likelihood of prolonged
displacement, as return is delayed and reconstruction needs are greater. Today,
some 2 million people remain without adequate shelter or housing, and 26,523
IDPs are living in collective sites.
An estimated 200,000 people are caught
in limbo as they wait to see whether or not their home areas will be classified
as ‘’no dwelling zones’’ by the government, meaning that they would be deemed
unsafe due to a high risk from further hazards, and cannot permanently return.
As was the case with Typhoon Washi (Sendong) in 2011, such
classifications result in many people being displaced for longer than expected
as they are forced to seek alternatives to return.
Displaced Filipinos who have been unable
to return home to resettle are among the most vulnerable and poorest of the
affected population. Furthermore, specific vulnerabilities and disadvantages
that hinder displaced families from thriving are challenges that tend to grow
over time. Where these same people lack access to information and are not
identified in monitoring and assessments by the government and other actors,
they are often the least visible also.
Inclusive and better data is critical to
adequately address specific needs
In the Philippines and elsewhere, large
gaps exist in information on displacement situations. This is complicated by
the complexity of movement patterns, but also extends to the understanding of
the location and well-being of displaced men, women and children in the medium-
and long-term.
Greater information and analysis is
needed in order to inform ongoing responses that build upon patterns of
resilience and positive coping mechanisms, such as ensuring access to education
for IDP children and diversifying income sources for displaced families.
Comprehensive data - disaggregated by age, gender, and disability - can help to
identify blind spots and trends, which in turn helps humanitarians to target
programs and assistance more effectively.
Six months on, the focus of assistance
in the Philippines has shifted markedly from emergency response to longer-term
recovery and development, as IDPs return or relocate to permanent settlement
areas. More than ever, there is a need for coordinated assessments and effective
information sharing among different actors including local authorities,
humanitarian organisations, and development actors.
A first step will be to harmonise the
different types of information that is being produced by different actors and
agencies. Comprehensive information gathering should, for example, include the
needs of IDPs in host family situations, those that have not yet been able to
return, those whose homes or new housing are deemed unsafe or at-risk, and
those who are at risk of being forcibly evicted from temporary lodging.
For future disasters, more systematic
monitoring and analysis of the different and changing displacement patterns
that people take should be carried out as the picture evolves, with attention
to the critical transitions between different locations and phases of
displacement.
As the typhoon season prepares to rear
its head yet again, IDPs already living in exposed and vulnerable situations
face an ever higher risk of falling victim yet again. Sustained assistance and
protection is critical to ensure voluntary, safe and dignified long-term
solutions for vulnerable and displaced people, wherever they may flee to.