Philippines Typhoon Mangkhut Relief

Philippines Typhoon Relief

Disaster Profile

Typhoon Mangkhut (known locally as Ompong) was a powerful super typhoon that brought widespread damage to Guam, the Philippines and South China in September 2018. Mangkhut made landfall in the Philippine province of Cagayan, late on September 14th, as a Category 5-equivalent typhoon. With sustained wind speeds of more than 205 km/h, the typhoon was the strongest storm to hit the Philippines since Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) in 2013.

In October 2016, two years before Mangknut struck the Philippines, Typhoon Haima (known locally as Lawin) made landfall in Cagayan as a Category 5-equivalent storm. The super typhoon had a diameter of 800km and devastated the area. We have identified schools within the Cagayan province which sustained destructive impacts from both Mangkhut and Haima, and have yet to receive help.

Program Work

On January 20, 2020, we opened our Philippines Typhoon Relief program, focusing on two primary schools, which accommodate more than 500 students aged 6-12 years old. The schools are located in the municipalities of Amulung and Alcala, in the northern Cagayan province of the Philippines. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, the program was suspended in March 2020, but we worked with local contractors to complete the schools when they were safely able to return to work within COVID-19 regulations.