More than 100 people are dead and more than 7 million people have been affected in 17 regions of the Philippines after Tropical Storm Trami made landfall on October 24, bringing intense rains to the Luzon and Visayas regions and resulting in widespread flooding and landslides.
The province of Camarines Sur is one of the hardest hit, with 36 out of 37 municipalities flooded. There has been extensive damage to property and livelihood, with families losing homes and crops to the floods. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)'s team was among the first organizations to arrive in the area and start responding to the most urgent needs of the flood-affected population.
The Philippines sees an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year, but in recent years these cyclones have been increasing in intensity, resulting in the loss of life and property, and increasingly affecting vulnerable communities.
Dr. Marve Duka Fernandez, medical team leader for MSF’s emergency response, shares what she has seen in Camarines Sur.
What are the needs on the ground?
Some of the areas we have visited are just now seeing the flood waters subside. These communities need safe drinking water and basic medications because they have been cut off from medical services. Those with chronic diseases have gaps in their maintenance medications. Exposure to floodwaters for several days has led to open wounds, fungal infections, and the risk of vector-borne diseases such as leptospirosis.
During our debriefing sessions in the community, one of the concerns people most often mentioned was their livelihood ... they are really thinking about how difficult it will be to build again, because their sources of livelihood—rice fields, farm animals, [and] tools—have been washed away, destroyed.
What has MSF been doing to help people affected by Tropical Storm Trami?
Since we have been here, we have done assessments of the worst-hit areas by coordinating with authorities and then doing actual visits to the communities. We have focused on the municipality of Bula in Camarines Sur, which is ground zero for the flash floods. This municipality is contiguous with the [Bicol] river, and there are tens of thousands of people living there.
We have gone to two barangays (local communities), Fabrica and Ombao Polpog, and have run mobile clinics in each, providing mental health and psychosocial support sessions for the community, especially the frontliners. We have also distributed hygiene kits, as well as drinking water in jerrycans that can be refilled. We have also done follow-up in an outlying section of San Miguel and ran mobile clinics in the barangays of Casugad and Salvacion. It's a comprehensive service of clinics, mental health support, hygiene kits, and water distribution to these identified barangays.
Tropical Storm Trami brought intense rains that triggered flash floods. The municipality of Bula was one of the hardest hit, and MSF teams had to use rubber boats to reach communities to assess needs. Philippines 2024 © Asnairah Solaiman/MSF
What are the challenges MSF has faced?
When we first arrived, many barangays were still flooded, or the roads to access them were still submerged and inaccessible for light vehicles. Our team coordinated with local authorities to reach these areas by boat or by truck, so that we could assess the needs and determine how to transport supplies and our team.
Another challenge is having [all of the] necessary drugs and materials, along with a full team that we can bring to the community. Medicines are an issue, and it's due to a combination of factors. The majority of stores and warehouses here were flooded, and their stocks come from Manila. But there has been very little supply coming through, and there are delays in the deliveries of drugs. The thoroughfares were also flooded, or there have been checkpoints as well as some security issues. At the same time, the demand in Camarines Sur is quite high, with local people buying drugs because they lost their supply in the floods, so the shelves of these stores were all emptied. That really affects the quality of the services we provide, because these drugs are critical. What we did is transport our own supply of drugs from Manila.
How has MSF been working with local volunteers?
What's been really positive in Camarines Sur is the presence of volunteers who have come to us from their own associations and hospitals. These are doctors, nurses, volunteers from the local government unit, and private individuals, who have provided information, resources, and time. We are working with volunteer doctors and nurses from Bicol Medical Center. We are working with nurses from the Department of Health and the Rural Health Unit of Bula. And whenever we go to the barangays, we are welcomed by barangay health workers, who themselves have been [affected by the floods], yet they are there for their barangays. We are able to conduct mobile clinics with them; they help with triage and consultations, and the dispensing of drugs.
MSF response in Camarines Sur
Over the course of two weeks, MSF visited and assessed several municipalities in Camarines Sur. In Barangay Sua, Camaligan, MSF distributed 90 jerrycans with safe drinking water to 190 families. Then we focused on the municipality of Bula, where our team visited several barangays to determine the most urgent needs. In the barangays of Fabrica, Ombao Polpog, San Miguel and Casugad, MSF distributed 700 hygiene kits and 1,110 jerrycans with safe drinking water.
Working with local volunteers, MSF conducted 1,449 medical consultations and provided psychosocial support to 238 affected people through individual and group sessions in the barangays of Fabrica, Ombao Polpog, San Miguel, Casugad, and Salvacion. MSF’s intervention ended on November 8 after the conclusion of the acute phase of the emergency.
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