page_title: Typhoon Haiyan
section_title: Criticism of government response
hierarchical_section_title: Typhoon Haiyan / Aftermath / Philippines / Criticism of government response
caption_attribution_description: English: Color coded map of Eastern Visayas showing the number of deaths caused by Typhoon Haiyan. &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;More than 1,000 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;500-999 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;100-499 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;50-99 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;25-49 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;1-24 &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;0 Reference: NDRRMC
context_page_description: Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the deadliest Philippine typhoons on record, killing at least 6,300 people in that country alone. In terms of JTWC-estimated 1-minute sustained winds, Haiyan is tied with Meranti for being the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone on record. In January 2014, bodies were still being found.
  The thirtieth named storm, thirteenth typhoon, and fifth super typhoon of the 2013 Pacific typhoon season, Haiyan originated from an area of low pressure several hundred kilometers east-southeast of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia on November 2, 2013. Tracking generally westward, environmental conditions favored tropical cyclogenesis and the system developed into a tropical depression on the following day. After becoming a tropical storm and being named Haiyan at 00:00 UTC on November 4, the system began a period of rapid intensification that brought it to typhoon intensity by 18:00 UTC on November 5.
context_section_description: Condemnations of slow government action in the relief effort in response to the typhoon mounted days after the storm had passed. Media reports criticized the Aquino administration for apparent lack of preparation and coordination among government agencies in the aid operation. Up until November 12, five days after the typhoon struck, survivors continued to struggle with basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter while remote towns in Leyte and Samar were yet to be reached by aid. The Philippine government responded by saying that they have dealt with the tragedy "quite well" but the response had been slow due to the breakdown of the local governance in affected areas where officials and employees, who were usually the first to respond in these events, were victims of the typhoon themselves. Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said that the national government had to take over despite logistical challenges and assured it is working toward providing aid the quickest way possible to the survivors. The national Government was also criticized for putting the responsibility of handling the dead to the Bureau of Fire instead to the Department of Health. Dr. Racquel Fortun, one of the forensic experts to go to the area three days after the typhoon insisted that handling of the bodies is a health matter and therefore a responsibility of DOH.
  One of the biggest controversies of Typhoon Haiyan is probably the number of victims or the body count. According to the Philippine government sources, the number of those killed during the typhoon ranges from 4,000 to 6,000 individuals while some sources claim that the body count reaches up to 15,000.
  In 2018, coinciding the fifth year mark of the disaster, the survivors again protested against the government's slow response on rehabilitation efforts, displaying the caricature of President Rodrigo Duterte, who was the Mayor of Davao City at the time of the disaster. However, in November 2018, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) confirmed that the budget is under the 2016 “Yolanda” Recovery & Reconstruction Program that “remained untapped & were not released” until the expiration of the validity of the funds last December 31, 2017, during President Duterte's second year in office.
caption: Color coded map of Eastern Visayas showing the number of deaths caused by Typhoon Haiyan.
     More than 1,000
     500-999
     100-499
     50-99
     25-49
     1-24
     0
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