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Typhoon Nock-ten hits central Philippines

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Philippines
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IFRC
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A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

On the evening of 25 December, Typhoon Nock-Ten (locally known as Nina) made landfall over the island province of Catanduanes with maximum winds of 185 kph and gusts of 255 kph. Nock-Ten moved southwest and traversed across the Bicol Region before passing southern Luzon and leaving landmass and out to sea on 26 December, Monday afternoon.

The typhoon brought strong winds and heavy rainfall on Sunday and Monday across the Bicol region and Region IV-B (MIMAROPA).Five people were reported dead, tens of thousands of people displaced and thousands of holiday travelers stranded. The typhoon also uprooted trees and powerlines, destroyed many houses, and caused flooding and landslides in several areas. Five provinces in Bicol at the height of the storm experienced power cut.

Typhoon Nock-Ten made 8 landfalls in the following areas. The typhoon is expected to exit in the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on the evening of 27 December.

To date amongst the affected provinces, Albay, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes are considered to have been heavily impacted. Strong winds, heavy rains and storm surges affected most parts of the Bicol region. The three provinces are under a state of calamity. In addition, reports have come in of damages in Marinduque and Oriental Mindoro in Region IV-B.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), as of 26 December 0800H, a total of 424,659 people (85,773 families) were seeking shelters in 300 evacuation centers in Regions Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Visayas. Families whose houses were not badly damaged have been advised by the local governments.to return to their homes Damage reports are slowly made available as the assessment teams are returning from the affected areas. However, at the moment there is still no consolidated picture of the damages and needs of the assessed areas. The initial reports from the field indicate there has been wind and flood damage to shelters, infrastructure and agriculture.

According to some reports, Catanduanes has yet to regain power due to fallen trees damaging electricity posts. Fallen electricity posts, trees and several landslides have made many of the roads impassable and further hampered assessments and response. In Albay, officials have initially reported more than 15,800 houses in Polangui town and 6,800 houses in Libon town were either destroyed or damaged, as well as damage to infrastructure and agriculture.

The province of Catanduanes was also recently struck by Typhoon Sarika (locally Karen) in October 2016, which left considerable humanitarian impact in the area. The IFRC Disaster Emergency Relief Fund (DREF) allocation was approved for responding to the humanitarian needs of the affected population. The DREF Operation for Typhoon Sarika is now completed and the Chapter will now prioritize these areas for assessment.

Information is still coming in and all figures are subject to change in the coming hours and days.