On November 8 2013, ‘super typhoon’ Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, made landfall in the Philippines touching down in five of the country’s densely populated provinces. Haiyan is considered one of strongest storms on record, reaching shores with 195 mile-per-hour winds and unprecedented levels of storm surge. The Typhoon’s widespread reverberations were felt throughout thirty-six provinces, claiming the lives of over 6,000 residents and impacting over 17.8 million individuals, including 7.4 million children.
Typhoon Haiyan generated billions of dollars in economic loss throughout the Philippines, devastating infrastructure and valuable resources, including homes, schools and hospitals. In the Leyte province, Tacloban City experienced the greatest level of damage with most of its population losing access to water and power. Children required urgent assistance to survive the aftermath of the storm and to begin on the road toward recovery. The Typhoon’s devastating impact on water supplies and sanitation systems made health a priority, along with creating safe and protected spaces for children to play and receive psychosocial support.
Within 48 hours after Typhoon Haiyan struck, UNICEF was on the ground working alongside Government and other partners to provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene, restore access to education, restock health supplies, and scale up nutrition and child protection support services
