On December 22, 2017, tropical storm Vinta made landfall in Mindanao region causing great damages to agriculture, infrastructures and basic services and affecting more than 550,000 people.
ACTED, in collaboration with Action Against Hunger and the Start Fund, provided prompt emergency assistance in Madalum municipality, one of the most affected of Mindanao region.
ACTED 2017
ACTED staff and Madalum Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Officer assessing post-typhon damages (houses buried under rocks, Barangay Bato, Madalum)
Families’ livelihoods jeopardized
Benny and his family are resident of Liangan, one of the many barangays of Madalum municipality. There, typhoon Vinta destroyed more than 3.5 million euros worth of crops and livestock and affected over 19,000 hectares of agricultural lands, according to the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines. Following the major flooding and landslides caused by the natural disaster, Benny witnessed the destruction of its land, comprised of scallions and upland rice crops. As for most of Madalum households, his family’s main source of income was lost, thus endangering their food security situation.
ACTED 2017
House damaged by Vinta, Madalum. December 26, 2017
Having lost their livelihoods, Benny and his family thought of leaving the area. Following damage assessment by barangay’s officials, Benny’s family was registered to receive emergency assistance from ACTED. Designed to respond to the basic needs of natural disaster-affected population, ACTED’s emergency kits contain relief goods that enable to support affected families: “We received items such as laundry and bath soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, nail cutter and a water container”, Benny explained.
ACTED’s assistance allowed us to meet our hygiene needs for several months, particularly those of the children, which would have been impossible otherwise, because of our lack of income.
ACTED 2018
Benny preparing scallions for planting, Madalum, January 11, 2018
Linking relief, rehabilitation and development
Along with the distribution of emergency kits, ACTED also conducted hygiene promotion sessions to increase the resilience of affected population, in accordance with its strategy of linking relief to rehabilitation and development. Thanks to ACTED’s relief support, Benny’s family no longer needs to leave the area, thus focusing on rehabilitating their livelihood. Benny started to cultivate his land again, to meet his family’s food needs.
ACTED 2017
ACTED staff with barangay official during the assessment 3 days after Vinta’s landfall, Madalum, December 25, 2017
On January 11, following typhoon Vinta, ACTED distributed hundreds of NFI, shelter and hygiene kits to cover the urgent needs of the affected people, providing immediate relief to 1,250 households, and awareness raising sessions on best hygiene practices were provided to some 5,000 vulnerable household.
