World Vision launches emergency appeal as Typhoon Odette leaves thousands of families affected in the Visayas

In the aftermath of Typhoon Odette (international name Rai), World Vision in the Philippines mobilizes its team to dispatch and respond to the emergency as several provinces in southern Philippines are left with destroyed homes and thousands of families displaced.

“Our house lost the entire second floor because of Typhoon Odette. I felt fear and the weariness in my heart,” shared World Vision staff Lucille Antonio based in Cebu. “While the strong winds were raging, I received a message from my son, Jorrel, asking for help. I felt so limited, so helpless,” added Antonio.

“We felt a very terrifying strong and howling winds last night,” texted Ramon Lucas, World Vision communications staff based in Bohol, one of the hard-hit provinces in the central Visayas.

Typhoon Odette lashed maximum sustained winds of 195km/h and gustiness of up to 240 km/h and made its first landfall in Mindanao’s Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, followed by another landfall in Southern Leyte in the Eastern Visayas.

Strong winds uprooted trees, houses and electrical posts, and flooded many provinces, including Cebu and Bohol, in the Visayas Region, where Typhoon Odette made the most landfalls.

World Vision has more than 11,000 supported families in the provinces of Leyte, Samar, Bohol, Cebu and Negros.

Government agencies remain on alert in the Western Visayas, where Odette is currently traversing, for possible landslides and flooding due to torrential rains and strong winds. Typhoon Odette is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Monday, December 21.

As of December 17, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Council (NDRRMC) reported more than 14,000 families are displaced or living in evacuation centers, and nearly 12,000 families are affected in five Philippine Regions. Electricity in 62 cities/municipalities is likewise affected and has not yet been restored as of this writing. Major roads, seaports and airports in affected regions are still cancelled.