Category: Disaster

Sending Help to Siargao

“I don’t know where to begin,” a survivor of Typhoon Odette in Siargao Island said to ICM Area Head Marites Petallar when she went there last week to bring relief and building supplies. Not even a single post of his house was saved. More than a month since the supertyphoon made landfall in Siargao, the...

A Month After the Typhoon: Bohol

It’s been a month since Typhoon Odette hit Bohol and other provinces in the central Philippines. Even with roads cleared and power is back in some cities, many of the affected communities — especially the ultra-poor ones — are still far from recovering. Most families are still struggling to recover from the traumatic experiences they...

A Typhoon Odette Survivor’s Story: Rebecca from Negros Oriental

Stories from the survivors of the recent Typhoon Odette are coming in. Typhoon Odette, 2021’s strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines, cut a swath of destruction across the provinces where ICM has been holding Transform programs among ultra-poor communities. Too many of our communities are now suffering in the aftermath of the typhoon, including our...

After Typhoon Odette – Stories from the bases

Typhoon Odette (international name “Rai”), the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2021 had carved out a trail of destruction across several provinces in the central Philippines last December 17. It left 407 dead as of January 3, and over half a million displaced. The provinces are far from recovered. Power is still not...

International Care Ministries Mobilizes Thousands of Partners for Typhoon Odette Relief Operations

On December 17, 2021, Category 5 typhoon Odette (international name Typhoon Rai) made landfall in the Philippines and wreaked devastation in the Visayas and Mindanao Region of the Philippines. It was one of the strongest and deadliest typhoons in recent years, forcing over 300,000 people to flee their homes, leaving hundreds dead and millions of...
The crisis is far from over for the poor

Ten months of Community Quarantine and the Crisis is Far from Over for the Poor

Ten months into the pandemic and community quarantine, the poor in Palawan, the Visayas, and Mindanao continue to struggle to meet their basic needs. Thirty-four percent were worried that they would not have enough food to eat; two-thirds (67%) percent are earning less than before the pandemic; and a quarter (27%) are unable to pay...

Remembering Typhoon Haiyan

On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines) ripped through central Philippines, causing death and destruction in its path. It is estimated that more than 6,300 people were killed with thousands more injured, and millions made homeless. It was the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall – powerful winds and storm surges smashed...

A New Home For Maria

Maria’s touching story of sacrifice, hard work and heroism was the centerpiece of ICM’s Gala Dinner in October 2015. As she shared her dreams and new-found hope for her life, and proudly watched her son Melvin perform, almost a thousand people were inspired to dream with ICM for the ultrapoor of the Philippines. It took...

Proactive Preparedness

 The Philippines is one of the most disaster-plagued areas in the world. The country is vulnerable to the most violent storms, like typhoon Haiyan that killed thousands of people and brought devastation to the Visayas region on November 8, 2013. After witnessing the destruction caused by disaster in the country, particularly among the ultrapoor communities,...

Planting Beauty in the Brokenness Left By Typhoon Haiyan

Written by Justine Maceross, Communications Officer ICM-Hong Kong On 3 March 2014, ICM staff, along with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) and several volunteers, loaded a small pump boat with relief packs — each including hygiene kits, clothing and 40 boxes full of FMSC MannaPacks (packages of nutrient-fortified food) — and climbed aboard. We visited communities...