Thousands still homeless one year after Typhoon Haiyan

Government plans to relocate about 200,000 families to permanent homes away from coastal areas.

Young typhoon survivors of Typhoon Haiyan walk outside their homes at a permanent relocation site in Tanuan, Leyte province, in central Philippines. Aaron Favila / AP Photo / October 11, 2014

ANIBONG, Philippines // A year after Typhoon Haiyan turned a huge swath of the central Philippines into a body-littered wasteland, many survivors are still struggling to rebuild their homes, including in government-designated danger zones where future typhoons could wreck their lives again.

In the hard-hit coastal village of Anibong, shantytowns are rising around rusted cargo ships that were washed ashore by powerful waves from one of the strongest storms ever recorded to make landfall. One villager’s house stands beside a concrete post marked, “No build zone”.

Villagers say they rebuilt along the coast because they have nowhere else to go. Most are fishermen, and want to be close to their boats, but they say they are willing to move once the government gives them land or housing.

Haiyan’s ferocious wind generated tsunami-like storm surges that swamped entire communities, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing. More than 4 million people were displaced by the storm, which destroyed or damaged more than a million houses and knocked down millions of power posts and coconut trees.

Tens of thousands of survivors are still dangerously exposed to future storms, living in tents, shanty huts or other flimsy shelters, as a prolonged rebuilding phase has only just begun.

The Philippines social welfare secretary, Dinky Soliman, said the rebuilding effort was “gargantuan”. She said that while many managed to rebuild their homes, the government, backed by foreign donors and aid organisations, still must resettle about 200,000 families to permanent housing sites in the next two or three years.

The displaced are housed in temporary shelters and bunkhouses while others live with relatives or in hastily erected shacks. About 300 families are still living in tents, but they could be moved to better – though still temporary – housing in the next few weeks, Ms Soliman said.

Much has been accomplished since Haiyan hit on November 8, 2013. Power, water and cellphone services are back and nearby Tacloban city throbs with life again.

“We’re 60 to 70 percent back to where we were but there is still a lot to be done,” Ms Soliman said. “We need to work on the permanent shelters, repair of shelters and sustainable livelihood.”

The Philippine president Benigno Aquino on Friday defended the pace of rebuilding after the storm, insisting that thorough reconstruction took time.

In a speech at the hard-hit town of Guiuan, Mr Aquino said he was determined to ensure the reconstruction programme was carried out correctly, rather than rushing.

“Curse me, criticise me but I believe I must do the right thing,” he said.

“I am impatient like everyone else but I have to stress that we can’t rebuild haphazardly. We have to build back better... let’s get it right the first time and the benefits should be permanent.”

The president has been criticised for approving the government’s 160-billion-peso (Dh13bn) reconstruction master plan only last week.

He previously defended the time taken to finalise it, saying programmes from affected municipalities had to be throughly scrutinised.

The government plans to move roughly one million people to about 200,000 new homes in areas away from coastal danger zones, but only a few thousand have been built so far.

Important reconstruction work has taken place ahead of the formal adoption of the master plan, including rebuilding roads, bridges, hospitals and other vital infrastructure.

In partnership with major international aid agencies, the government has also helped to roll out vaccination programmes for millions of children and given rice seeds to desperate farmers.

Mr Aquino cited international aid agencies as saying post-Haiyan recovery efforts were moving faster compared with programmes in Indonesia’s Bandeh Aceh after it was hit by mega-tsunami waves in 2004.

The president also defended his decision not to visit Tacloban, the biggest city in the typhoon-hit areas but where the mayor is a bitter political rival, for the one-year anniversary commemorations.

“I have a hunch my critics will say I am taking Tacloban for granted ... but I am not after brownie points,” he said, insisting recovery efforts were strong there and he did not have to visit personally.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse