Like everyone in Europe I watched the landfall of Typhoon Yolanda and its passage across the Philippines with my heart in my mouth. The enormity of this super typhoon, illustrated graphically by satellite photographs, was almost too colossal to comprehend. As first reports reached me of the estimated scale of the losses of life as well as damage to property I knew that we had to act immediately.
I was travelling to Japan at the time to participate in talks on disaster risk management and by the time I arrived in Tokyo a team of European Commission humanitarian experts had travelled to the affected areas and were already sending me their initial assessments. Within hours of those first reports we announced an immediate humanitarian aid funding of three million euros.
The EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism was also activated to ensure that the relief efforts of our member states were coordinated, working through our Emergency Response Coordination Centre in Brussels. Sixteen of our member States swiftly made offers of assistance.
In Tacloban on 16 November, I have visited a Belgian medical team and seen the work of many specialists from our European nations who rushed here to help. I’m proud that we are all united by our core value of solidarity with those in need.
My colleague Andris Piebalgs, the EU’s Commissioner for Development Aid, was on a pre-planned visit to Manila and we arranged for him to be briefed on the situation as it developed. Recognising immediately the severity of the crisis, Commissioner Piebalgs was able to announce an additional ten million euros to be spent on the aftermath of Yolanda in early recovery and reconstruction.
And now I have travelled to the Philippines to see for myself the extent of this calamity. I am announcing another seven million euros in humanitarian aid. This will go to filling gaps in getting food to the most affected people, providing emergency shelter and clean water, health services and communication. Our funding is also contributing to the support of coordination, transport and logistics — all of which are of crucial importance to delivering aid to the survivors.
All those who have suffered and are suffering have my deepest sympathy. While the arrival of Yolanda was anticipated its overwhelming dimensions were not and it may yet go down in history as the most powerful cyclone to make landfall ever recorded.
I have no doubt that the Philippines will recover from this tragedy. This year it has faced 25 typhoons. But we must face the fact that this will not be the last great storm you will have to face. The Philippines is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. Last month the EU donated 2.5 million euros when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit, taking the lives of more than 200 people, destroying the homes and livelihoods of 350,000 people.
Unfortunately it is inevitable that extreme weather events will be even more intensive and frequent in the future. More people will be more vulnerable and we must do more to protect them. Building resilience will help vulnerable communities withstand the blows of Mother Nature.
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(European Union Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva is in charge of humanitarian aid and civil protection.)