Haiyan

Typhoon Haiyan damaged or destroyed more than 33 million coconut trees in the Philippines in November 2013, putting at risk the livelihoods of more than one million farming households.

The huge humanitarian response in the aftermath of November’s super typhoon saved thousands of lives but three months on, the poorest coconut farmers, traders and fisherpeople are being left out of the recovery effort.

Across the Philippines, Christmas celebrations are uncharacteristically subdued this year as people reflect on the devastation wrought by typhoon Haiyan.

International agency Oxfam will start distributing 400 tons of rice seeds in six rural municipalities south of Tacloban today (Thursday 12 December) to help farmers win their 'race against time' to avoid missing the next growing season.

Typhoon Haiyan not only killed thousands across the Philippines and made millions homeless.

Despite widespread destruction and massive logistical obstacles in the wake of the Philippines typhoon, fast action backed by generous international support and the solidarity of local people has helped millions of people survive and prevented any major outbreak of disease.

Millions of people in the Philippines will go hungry in the coming months if rice farmers don’t receive urgent assistance after typhoon Haiyan wiped out a third of the countries rice growing areas.

We are esponding to Typhoon Haiyan currently with four teams in the affected areas (Northern Cebu, Leyte and Samar) providing water and hygiene kits.

We have dispatched a team of experts on the ground in the Philippines today after typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) hit on 8 November to assess the water, public health and sanitation conditions of those affected.