About two months after typhoon Rai struck the Philippines, the damage is still great. More than 350 people have died and tens of thousands of people are still being displaced from their homes and lacking basic necessities.
Typhoon Rai swept across the Philippines in mid-December 2021. At least 375 people are said to have lost their lives due to the typhoon, and over 500 have been injured. In January, oaround 73 people are still displaced from their homes and around 000 million people were otherwise affected by the disaster, according to ReliefWeb's evaluation report.
The typhoon consisted of strong winds and heavy rain. The central and southern parts of the country were worst affected - where the typhoon knocked out large parts of the communication and electricity and water supply. In addition to people's homes, schools and hospitals were also destroyed, and now a long period of reconstruction is waiting for the country.
The UN appealed early on contributions to emergency aid and started around Christmas Eve a campaign with the goal of raising almost one billion kronor to the Philippines. Sweden's development assistance authority Sida has provided humanitarian aid of SEK 4.5 million to affected people in the country, but believes that the need for more support is still great. Sida's support consists of direct help on site via organizations such as Islamic Relief, in the form of basic necessities such as clean water, hygiene items and food.
"People now need quick help so that their situation does not worsen further," he said Elizabeth Hedin, Deputy Head of the Humanitarian Unit at Sida, in a press release in January.
The Philippines is particularly vulnerable to climate change
Elisabeth Hedin also points out in a press release that the Philippines has a large number of people who already lived in poverty before the typhoon, which exacerbates the situation of losing their home and their belongings. Of the Philippines's approximately 103 million people, over a quarter live in poverty, according to statistics from UNDP. Three quarters of these live in rural areas, which is the most exposed area to natural disasters such as typhoons. The country is also hard hit by the covid-19 pandemic, which further complicates the emergency situation. The Red Cross also states that people have been forced to evacuate to overcrowded evacuation centers, where the infection spreads more easily.
With its many coasts and islands, the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to climate change, and in 2021 the country was hit by as many as fifteen typhoons - Rai was the worst during the year. In order for typhoons to form, it be the least 22 degrees in the sea which means that countries with tropical heat near water are particularly vulnerable. This natural phenomenon expected to increase with global warming, when warmer and wetter air is formed and typhoons are created.
In April 2021, the Philippines submitted its national plan to combat greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and at the COP26 climate summit in the autumn of 2021, the country's government addressed issues of climate justice. According to Philippine News Agency the country also established an expert panel on climate change.
"We realize that we are one of the most vulnerable countries when it comes to climate change and we have decided to take our own measures and we will not wait for national agreements on climate change," said Carlos Dominguez, secretary of the government's finance ministry and chairman of the expert panel. the country's annual week to draw attention to climate change.
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