Typhoon Rai’s trail of destruction in the Philippines reignites loss and damage calls

The devastation caused by Typhoon Rai in Philippines has resparked calls for loss-and-damage support, apart from humanitarian aid, to help disaster stricken communities rebuild and recover.

The category 5 Cyclone, which struck in mid December, claimed more than 400 lives and caused damage and economic losses of at least half billion dollars. It was the strongest typhoon that struck the Philippines in 2021.

Oxfam reports thatPeople are beggaring for food in the areas ravaged Rai, locally known as Odette. Nearly seven million people have lost homes and their main source of income. The flooding caused by the typhoon flooded large areas, causing flooding that affected more than 420,000 hectares and destroying 925,000 homes.

“We live here because our only livelihood comes from the sea. We pulled out all the boats to safety, but they were still swept away by the waves and reached the roads. Typhoon Rai was bigger and stronger than the two previous ones,” Petronilo Bohol, a fisher from Malitbog village in Southern Leyte, told Oxfam. 

The country’s agriculture ministry estimates the damage to farming and fishing at $230 million, while the disaster risk reduction authority puts the toll on infrastructure – homes, roads, electricity and water lines – at $350m.

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Jermaine Baltazar Bayas, Oxfam’s humanitarian lead in Asia, told Climate Home News the aid agency had seen a “drastic increase” in the severity of typhoons in the past decade. “We are seeing a real manifestation of climate change.”

Bayas indicated that recovery efforts could take up six months in some regions and that humanitarian aid will not be enough to help communities rebuild lives and livelihoods. 

“Humanitarian aid covers the immediate need, what people need to survive, but [we also need support] for the mid and long-term recovery,” he said. “This has to be embedded in regions’ development programmes and there has to be [focus] on protecting assets and helping people restart their livelihoods.”

Kerry Emmanuel, a climate scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyClimate Home News spoke with, who said that the loss and damage caused by tropical storms are expected to rise in the coming decades.

This is partly due demographics: The number of people who live in floodplains and coastal areas. It has been growing rapidly since the 1970s. Another reason is the increasing intensity of tropical storms worldwide, with more storms reaching higher categories (3, 4, and 5) in recent years. According to 2020 Study. Kerry says that heavy rainfall can cause severe flooding due to the increased intensity.

It is harder to attribute tropical storms directly with climate change. This is true even in the case heatwaves or floodingKerry said that there was a lack in historical data and incorrect forecasts of hurricane intensity. “We are doing a great job at detecting hurricanes from space, but a poor job at measuring their intensity.”

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Sven Harmeling from Care International, the policy lead for climate change and resilience, stated that loss or damage finance should not depend on climate attribution. “If It is very difficult to determine the extent of climate change without first establishing it. [result in] help being delivered far too late,” he told Climate Home News. 

Instead, he suggested that clear mechanisms should be developed to allow for quick payouts in case of disaster. He suggested that an international finance-backed insurance pool could be used to offer immediate payouts in the event of certain impacts.

Bayas said that anticipatory finance, which is provided prior to a hazard strikes helps minimize losses or damages. Oxfam partnered with local governments in Rai’s path to provide immediate cash grants, through a parametric insurance system, and technical assistance to strengthen people’s houses ahead of the storm hitting. “That was a really good investment,” said Bayas.

Campaigners around the world are calling for rich nations to mobilise support for vulnerable countries in order to avoid loss and damage exceeding $300 billion per year by 2030. Climate adaptation finance and humanitarian aid.

Christian Aid commissioned a studyProjects show that the GDP of 65 countries most affected by climate change will suffer a 20% drop by 2050, and 64% by 2100, respectively, if global temperatures rise to 2.9C. This scenario is consistent with current policies. Even if global warming is kept to 1.5C, the most vulnerable communities will be those that did little to contribute to climate change.