Earthquake in the Philippines
People Helped
Humanitarian Needs
On December 2, 2023, the island of Mindanao in the Philippines was hit by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, affecting 700 000 people in three regions in the country. The strong earthquake, which struck off the coast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, triggered a tsunami warning and recorded nearly 1,700 aftershocks, with magnitudes ranging from 1.4 to 6.6. Strong to moderate aftershocks in the epicenter's area are expected to persist for several days to months. The earthquake caused thousands of vulnerable communities to be homeless and displaced, with livelihoods lost and disrupted and infrastructure destroyed.
Humanitarian Response
Oxfam Pilipinas has decades of experience delivering humanitarian assistance to disaster-affected communities in different regions of the Philippines, including the worst-affected provinces by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Mindanao, both in development and humanitarian programming.
Oxfam's primary goal is to enhance access to emergency shelter for the most vulnerable families impacted by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Surigao del Sur Province. This entails providing shelter kits and one-time conditional cash assistance for the repair of damaged shelters to 150 of the most vulnerable families or 750 individuals affected by the earthquake. Priority will be given to female-headed and child-headed households, unaccompanied children, households with older persons, children under 5, persons with disabilities, and pregnant and lactating women. Additionally, technical support on proper repair and basic carpentry following shelter guidelines will be offered through Build Back Safer (BBS) approaches to 450 shelter beneficiaries and local carpenters.
Another objective is to enhance access to cash assistance to fulfill life-saving food and basic needs for the most vulnerable earthquake-affected families. Oxfam aims to achieve this by providing one-time Multi-Purpose Cash Transfers (MPCT) to support the food and basic needs of 1,500 of the most vulnerable families (7,500 individuals) impacted by the earthquake. Moreover, there will be a provision of one-time unconditional cash assistance to support the nutritional requirements of 500 pregnant and lactating mothers as well as older persons during the emergency phase.
Moreover, Oxfam aims to bolster access to essential hygiene resources and knowledge to alleviate the risk of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related diseases among earthquake-vulnerable communities. This involves conducting community-based hygiene promotion sessions and distributing hygiene kits to 500 families and vulnerable groups, including women, children, older persons, and people with disabilities.
Lastly, Oxfam aims to improve access to gender and protection information and services for earthquake-affected adults, children, including persons with disabilities. This will be achieved through the provision of cash for care to pregnant, lactating, elderly, and persons with disabilities to complement the NFI distribution of the government, based on their differentiated needs and priorities. Additionally, community awareness sessions will be conducted on protection, gender, gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, care work, and referral pathways.
Our response to small and medium-scale disasters is co-funded by Global Affairs Canada, the member agency delivering the assistance, and donations to the Humanitarian Coalition. Your gift will help us be ready for the next disaster. Donate today.