Disasters explained: Hurricanes
Find out everything you need to know about hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons.
Tropical storm Usman sweeps through the Philippines
Tropical Storm Usman left a trail of destruction when it made landfall in December 2018. We supported families whose homes and livelihoods had been swept away with essential aid items.
Tropical storm Usman hit the Philippines on 29 December 2018, sweeping through the country until the end of December.
The storm was the deadliest weather disaster in the Philippines in 2018, following Typhoon Mangkhut in September.
Heavy rains triggered landslides across the centre of the country, and the storm coincided with the monsoon season, making rainfall and flooding even worse.
We have supported over 2,000 families with shelter kits, mosquito nets, blankets, solar lights and storage boxes.
Updates from the field
A ShelterBox team was deployed in the northern Samar region of Philippines, assessing the impact of Tropical Storm Usman.
Their focus was on Lope de Vega, where many local villages (or ‘barangays’) were submerged by water, and where around 600 homes were destroyed, even more have been badly damaged.
In this first update, our Response Team travel to the hard to reach communities who lost their homes after the storm to assess the level of damage.
In this second update from the field, the team found an opportunity to support the local government’s relief efforts.
We have supported families with essential shelter aid, including shelter kits, mosquito nets, blankets, solar lights and storage boxes.
Watch now to see some of the affected areas and see our team training families so they can use their new equipment.
In this third video, Rosemarie brings you a quick look at our first distributions of aid in Lope de Vega.
Can you spot all of the aid items being distributed?
- Shelter kits
- Mosquito nets
- Solar lamps
- Blankets
- Water carriers
Measuring our impact in the Philippines
Aid distributions were followed by post-distribution monitoring.
Post-distribution monitoring aims to measure our impact, and it involves surveys as well as focus group discussions with people who have received ShelterBox aid following the disaster.
Some of the key findings suggest that the aid items are visibly being used and are considered useful.
The water carriers were specifically appreciated, as the people who use them said that they are light and therefore easier to use.
Watch the video from the team that was in the field.
Aid we have delivered in the Philippines
Shelter kits
These tools and materials provide the essentials families need to start rebuilding homes.
Solar lights
These enable families to cook meals and children to finish their homework when it gets dark.
Water carriers
These enable families to easily access clean, safe water.
Snapshots from the field
Explore more
Our work in the Philippines
The Philippines is hit by a series of deadly disasters every year. See how we’ve responded to disasters over the years.
ShelterBox Operations Philippines
ShelterBox Operations Philippines is a non-government organisation (NGO) that aims to provide emergency shelter for families affected by disasters in the Philippines.