In early November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan barreled through South Asia, particularly devastating the Philippines. In the aftermath of the tropical cyclone, over 6,000 civilian lives were lost, nearly 2,000 more civilians remained missing and four million residents found themselves completely and utterly displaced in a country that they once knew as home.

Unfortunately, this vast amount of displaced people exceeds the maximum number that current aid organizations have the resources and capability to provide for. The devastation resulting from Typhoon Haiyan places additional strains on the Philippines, a nation that had a relentless pre-existing poverty crisis.

Prior to Typhoon Haiyan, the Philippines was already struggling with a high poverty rate in which approximately half of the nation’s 88 million residents live in impoverished rural areas. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD,) 80 percent of the nation’s poor live in these rural locales.

However, after the typhoon, survivors now resort to make-shift abodes in the form of fright boxes and raggedy tents. A significant amount of refuge shelters sponsored by the government fail to meet international guidelines, leaving survivors to seek shelter by hastily assembling make-shift homes. According to the Washington Post, a paltry nine percent of survivors have received adequate material to rebuild the remains of their homes.

Although the adult literacy rate in the Philippines is approximately 95 percent, a handful of survivors are illiterate. To address this issue, while survivors wait for more building materials, construction workers tour sites and provide architectural advice on safe construction methods.

The inadequacy of the Filipino government’s emergency response in the wake of the typhoon reflects the deeper issues of poverty in the Philippines. In a country where more than half of the population struggles with the perils of poverty, the government is already gripped with internal plight, hindering its ability to adequately respond to natural disasters.

Even over a month after Typhoon Haiyan, aid organizations still struggle to provide proper shelter to millions of survivors. With such conditions, the process of providing adequate international relief in a timely manner may require fine-tuning.

– Phoebe Pradhan

Sources: Rural Poverty Portal, Wunderground, Washington Post, UNICEF
Photo: Giphy.com