Philippines: Three months after record cluster of storms, Red Cross recovery work pushes on

By the Climate Centre
IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain has said that recovery from the barrage of six back-to-back storms that struck the Philippines recently is ongoing, but he adds that “continued support is critical to helping communities get back on their feet”.
Starting in October, a cluster of six cyclones that scientists said were intensified by climate change made landfall somewhere in the Philippine archipelago in a month – affecting 14 million people, causing widespread damage, and leaving communities with little time to recover, Mr Chapagain said in a post late last week on X/Twitter.
“Today, many are still struggling to rebuild,” he added, while the Philippine Red Cross has been on the ground from day one, providing life-saving relief including search and rescue, first aid, ambulance services, health check-ups, and psychosocial support.
Staff and volunteers have also distributed cash, food and hot meals, clean water, medicines, and other relief items. (Read more: Philippines – Red Cross remains steadfast in supporting communities as they rebuild after six back-to-back typhoons.)
So far the IFRC’s revised emergency appeal issued at the end of October is 37 per cent covered.
‘More work is needed’
Caroline Haga, IFRC Asia Pacific Communications Coordinator, said on X/Twitter last week: “There is a lot of early action and early preparedness work, for example, to provide people in the probable area where typhoons will strike most heavily with materials and tools to secure their houses, to try to weather the storm.
“But, of course, more is needed and the IFRC is supporting the Philippine Red Cross to scale up this work.”
World Weather Attribution scientists said climate change made nearly twice as likely the conditions that generated the tight cluster of storms reportedly not seen in the region since records began in 1951.
Also, the likelihood of at least three Category 3–5 typhoons hitting the Philippines in a single season has increased 25 per cent due to climate change, WWA added, while the country is experiencing sea-level rise more than three times as fast as the global average, causing heavier coastal surges from typhoons.
Downpours are intensifying, resulting in dangerous landslides like the ones in Mindanao in January 2024, while heatwaves also pose major challenges during summer.
Philippine Red Cross personnel assist with clearing up after one of the storms that struck late last year. From search-and-rescue missions to support for people living in evacuation centres, their efforts have been critical to maintaining health and well-being in the storms’ aftermath, says the IFRC. (Photo: PRC via IFRC social media)