Philippines — Typhoon Haiyan Displacement Report (May 2014)

According to the Government of the Philippine’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), some 4 million people were internally displaced from their homes due to the Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) disaster- over a quarter of the entire affected population of 14 to 16 million people. Six months on, while most displaced people have remained in their original homes areas or returned to them, more than 2 million people are still living without adequate shelter or durable housing. This includes over 26,000 displaced people still living in temporary or transitional collective displacement sites. Furthermore, an estimated 200,000 people are awaiting clarification on whether they will be permitted to return or to stay and settle in homes that may be categorized as unsafe due to their vulnerability to further storms and other hazards.

During the first six months since the typhoon made landfall, more than two hundred assessments and other reports have been published to inform the response to the situation. Without further filtering and analysis across this profusion of information it is difficult to know whether the situation of all displaced people and their differentiated needs have been included in monitoring and assessments used to guide government and humanitarian priorities. Where some displaced people are less visible, or their specific concerns have been poorly recognised, their displacement-related needs put them at risk of becoming increasingly vulnerable – including to further disaster and displacement. Progress towards sustainable solutions for all displaced men, women and children is key to the recovery and resilience of both the displaced and wider affected population.

This report draws together information from selected government and humanitarian sources to provide an overall understanding of displacement patterns and trends and of related needs and issues faced by displaced men, women and children in all geographical areas and settings. It aims to provide the Government, operational actors and donors with a more holistic understanding of the complex and dynamic picture of displacement involving multiple locations, phases and types of movement of people with different and changing needs over time. It also highlights apparent gaps in information and analysis that should be considered for increased attention to inform the on-going and longer-term process of achieving safe, dignified and sustainable solutions for internally displaced people.