Initial Rapid Assessment Roxas City, Capiz 14 November 2013 Prepared by J. Berja (15 Nov 2013); Revised 16 Nov 2013 Situation On November 8, Typhoon Yolanda passed through Region VI (Western Visayas) and ravaged the whole province of Capiz, northern municipalities of the provinces of Iloilo and Aklan and portions of Antique. The typhoon destroyed many houses and establishments, brought down electric posts and power lines, disrupted water supply, damaged infrastructures and agricultural crops 1, and claimed lives. 2 In many, coastal areas, the typhoon also resulted to floodings. Photo shows destroyed houses and flooded streets. Photo courtesy of Capiz PDRRMC. A week after the typhoon, the situation has relatively become stable. Local governments were already functioning and have distributed or in the process of giving relief assistance to some affected families. 1 Based on the briefing provided by the PDRRMC, facilitated by the Provincial Administrator, on 14 November 2013, the estimated cost of the damages to infrastructure is Php1,595,712,400.14 while the damages in agriculture was estimated at 461,376,519.50. 2 In the province of Capiz, immediately after the typhoon, the reported number of deaths was 5. By 14 November 2013, the number grew to 50. But according to the Provincial Administrator, they believe the number will no longer increase to much since 50 has been the total number of deaths for several days now. 1
The national government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), has also provided augmentation support to the relief efforts of the local governments. Photo shows repacking operations at the PSWDO. Photo by J. Berja. In Roxas City, the airport is functioning and is open for commercial flights. Markets and financial institutions were already doing business. International organizations and United Nations agencies have also undertaken initial rapid assessments and some have started working in different provinces of the region, particularly the province of Capiz. 2
Photo shows the tower of Roxas City airport. It was destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda but the airport is already open for commercial flights. Photo by J. Berja. Photo shows people cleaning the fallen trees in the city park. One indicator that life in the city is slowly being put into order. Photo by J. Berja. 3
But based on the initial rapid assessment undertaken by WFP in the province of Capiz, a lot of needs still have to be addressed. PRIORITY NEEDS: Food, water, and shelter According to Mr. Esperedion Pelaez, Capiz PDRRMO, the province has three priority needs at the moment, namely: food, water and shelter. According to the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer, Ms. Violeta Silva, the provincial government has already undertaken two waves of food distribution. She estimates that together with the augmentation family food packs from the regional DSWD, they have reached around 40 percent of the affected population so far. They are requesting assistance in reaching the unserved 60 percent of the affected population. Based on the rough estimate calculated during the meeting with Provincial DSWD, PDRRMO, Provincial Administrator and personnel of DSWD Region 6, the amount of rice needed to serve the remaining 60 percent of affected families 3 (at 3 kilos per family) is 275.9 metric tons. Water is also a need because pumping stations have stopped supplying water due to lack of electricity. According to the provincial government officials, electricity is expected to be fully restored in the whole province in a two-month time. The main sources of water now are private water companies. 4 Right now, the local governments are requesting direct water supplies and/or water purifiers. Shelter is another priority need since many of the houses, particularly along coastal communities, were destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda. The need for shelter is being highlighted by the fact that many municipalities are now closing their evacuation centers and sending the evacuees back to their communities for two major reasons: 1) they are running out of resources to support the evacuation centers and 2) they don t want the classes of children to be disrupted for too long. The immediate requests of the local governments now are materials for building the houses of affected families. OTHER CONCERNS: Lack of warehouses, rising prices, destroyed livelihoods, lack of communications Another concern, according to the PDRRMO, is the lack of warehouses in the province to store the relief goods. All the warehouses in the province, particularly Roxas City, were destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda. The need for warehousing was also voiced by some members of the humanitarian team, particularly, Save the Children and ACF. According to some personnel of the DSWD Region VI in Capiz, supply of rice and other commodities are also dwindling resulting to increases in the prices of goods. According to one account, a sack of rice (50 kgs) is now priced as Php 1,700. There were also stories immediately after the typhoon that the prices of of gasoline being sold in the black market cost more than Php60. Since supply is not enough and demand is high, the cost of water has also risen. According to one tricycle driver, a five-gallon container which used to sell for Php20 is not being sold at Php50. 3 According to Capiz PDRRMC, as of 14 November 2013, the total number of affected families is 139,564. As such, 60 percent of that is roughly 83,738. 4 According to one tricycle driver, the private water companies are able to pump water from the pumping stations thus they can sell water. 4
Another important concern is how to rebuild the livelihoods of the affected people. According to initial assessments made by UNDAC and accounts of personnel of DSWD Region 6, the most affected livelihoods were farming, fishing and poultry raising. Floods caused by Typhoon Yolanda submerged many ricefields underwater. The floods also caused the deaths of chicken in most poultry farms in the province. On the other hand, the strong winds and waves caused by Typhoon Yolanda destroyed many boats, fishnets and other implements of fisherfolks in the province. Due to lack of electricity, internet connection is likewise down. Mobile internet connection is possible but limited. Cell phone signal is also erratic. NUTRITION CONCERN: No major problem at the moment There was no major concern related to nutrition. Even UNICEF noted that health facilities and medical institutions including drug stores are fully functioning. They, however, said that a closer look at existing evacuation centers 5 have to be done MARKETS and FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS are doing functioning In Roxas City, there are two public markets. During the time of assessment, both public markets are open and functioning. Dried and wet goods are available in the markets. According to accounts of DSWD partners, the most in-demand goods are housing materials. There is also a lack of salt water fishes as most fishermen cannot go to the sea since their boats, fishing nets and other implements were destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda. The only available fresh water fish is bangus (milk fish). Banks in the city were open during the assessment visit. Money transfer institutions were likewise open. The WFP assessment staff witnessed a lot of people queuing in one branch of a money transfer institution during the assessment. Hotels and restaurants are also doing business. Most are relying on generators for supply of electricity. Prices, however, have increased. In the hotel where the WFP stayed, 40 percent of the original price was added to offset the cost of operating generators. 5 There were conflicting accounts as to how many evacuation centers still exist in the province. UNICEF mentioned that there were only two functioning evacuation centers while another organization mentioned 15. According to IOM staff, they are yet to do their assessment. On the other hand, the provincial administrator mentioned that many evacuation centers are now closing since culturally, people in Capiz do not want to stay long in evacuation centers. 5
Photo shows collapsed portion of the big public market in Roxas City. Photo below shows the damaged roof of that market. Photo by J. Berja. 6
Photos show both dried and wet goods being sold in the Roxas public market. Photos by J. Berja. 7
Photo shows dried saltwater fishes in the big public market in Roxas City. Photo below shows milkfishes, reportedly the only available fresh fish in the market. Photos by J. Berja. 8
Photo shows people availing services from a money transfer office in Roxas City. Photo by J. Berja. HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTIONS During the WFP assessment team, other organizations were also doing their assessments. Among the organizations met by WFP assessment staff in the area were UNDAC, UNICEF, IOM, Save the Children, Philippine Red Cross/International Federation of Red Cross, ACF, Child Fund, and MSF. A humanitarian hub was also set-up in the provincial capitol building. At the moment, two UNDAC personnel are serving as coordinators of the hub. Under the Food Security Cluster, Red Cross and ACF are now planning to start their food distribution. According to Mr. Rey Martinez, Red Cross Capiz, they are ready to distribute 3000 relief packs as early as Friday, 15 November 2013. ACF, on the other, hand are expecting their high energy biscuits and food packs to reach the area within the week. Under the Logistics Cluster, the need is warehouses to store the goods that different agencies are bringing in the area. There is also request for vehicles to transport the goods to affected communities. 9
CONTACT INFORMATION OF PARTNERS IN REGION VI AND CAPIZ Ms. Ma. Evelyn B. Macapobre, Director IV, Field Office VI - Tel/Fax: (033) 508-67-75; 508-68-67; Direct Line: (033) 337-62-21 Mr. Esperedion C. Pelaez, Capiz PDRRMO 0939-9396463; pdrrmc_capiz@yahoo.com Ms. Violeta Silva, Capiz PSWDO 09275107287; silva_violeta11@yahoo.com Ms. Josephine Degala, DSWD Region VI staff in Capiz - 09103758512 Mr. Ryan de la Gente, DSWD Region VI staff in Capiz, 09088151529; nayr19@gmail.com Ray P. Martinez, Red Cross-Capiz 09209210789; rye_martinez@yahoo.com.uk UNDAC ROXAS CITY - undac.roxas@gmail.com Photo shows WFP staff in discussion with Save the Children and IFRC personnel during the courtesy call with the provincial governo. Photo courtesy of Capiz PDRRMC. ## 10