• We are responding with emergency shelter after six major storms made landfall in the Philippines in less than a month. Each storm has brought more heavy rains, strong winds, and flooding to already affected areas. This has caused more damage and made the recovery much more difficult. Large areas remain waterlogged. 
• We are supporting people affected by Tropical Storm Trami (known locally as Kristine), and will expand our response to support people affected by Super Typhoon Man-yi (known locally as Pepito). 
• We have a local team permanently based in the Philippines and emergency shelter aid stored in Cebu. The country is susceptible to extreme weather and earthquakes and we are well-prepared to respond to tropical storms and other disasters. We have responded in the Philippines more than 30 times. 

A low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal intensified downpours, significantly impacting the northeastern and southeastern regions of the country. 5.8 million people across 11 districts have been affected as a result of the flooding, and over 330,000 homes are reported as being damaged or destroyed. Whilst floodwaters have receded, large areas remain inundated, affecting people’s ability to return to daily life.

About 4.5 million Kutcha (temporary housing made of mud and straw) and Jhupri (shacks made of jute sticks, tree leaves, etc.) houses that are common in the districts affected are susceptible to damage and destruction, so the full extent of damage to shelters is yet unknown. Our response will aim to support at least 700 vulnerable families whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. Construction work will address the fundamental need for a well-built and reinforced structural plinth. One hundred families whose homes were destroyed will receive a full reconstruction package for both plinths and shelters. Six hundred families with damaged homes will receive materials to reinforce their plinths, as well as cash to hire trained masons and purchase materials to restore their homes. All 700 families will receive cash assistance to help meet some of their basic needs. 

Amany lives in a makeshift tent in a displacement site in the middle of the Gaza Strip. This tent is where Amany now lives with her children after a dramatic journey of displacement. Since November 2023, Almany and her family have been forced to multiple different places before arriving here. Mohammed (12 years old), Essam (11 years old), Waleed (7 years old), and her mother-in-law, share the tent with her.

On October 13th, 2023, the family were called to evacuate their home through an area where Amany’s husband, Ahmad, used to work as a paramedic. Whilst working to help save the lives of those injured in the conflict, tragically, Ahmad was targeted and killed. Amany and her children now live alone without any financial income.

Almany was first displaced to her father’s home where she stayed for one month, before evacuating to stay with a host family for seven months. Although the host family was based in an Israeli forces ‘humanitarian safe zone,’ again Almany was forced to flee and now lives here in this makeshift tent.

Amany said, ‘Suffering becomes multi-layered and intersectional, even when it comes to daily routine tasks such as taking care of my children. I start my day cooking for my kids, before taking my position in the long-standing queue for the joint bathroom, which needs a lot of patience and time.’ Amany spends her day performing different tasks, including filling, preparing, and cleaning water cans. They are living through constant fear and uncertainty.