Emergency employment and livelihood recovery

Emergency Employment and Livelihood Recovery for Super Typhoon Haiyan: Tacloban and Leyte

The International Labour Organization (ILO) through the support of the Government of Norway, the Government of Japan and the International Maritime Employers Council (IMEC) has worked in Tacloban and Leyte, in response to Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) since December 2013.

Eastern Visayas had the most number of damaged houses reported after Super Typhoon Haiyan hit, with almost 500,000 partially or totally damaged. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported 5.1 million affected individuals and 1 million affected families in the region, with almost 50 per cent (2.4 million) coming from Leyte Province.

Estimates showed that there were 2 million affected workers in the region. Almost 60 per cent of the affected workers came from the industry and service sector.

The devastation in the coastal municipalities in the Tacloban area was total. All the villages, towns, and hillsides were destroyed by the typhoon or the storm surge. Apart from this storm surge destruction, there were also many Barangays inland that suffered loss of property because of the incredible strength of the typhoon, and needed immediate assistance through emergency employment.

Many of coastal communities devastated by the storm surge relied on fishing and related economic activities. In the recovery process construction and carpentry were the skills most in demand, as they applied both to boat and house re-building.

Commerce and trade in most towns and municipalities was almost completely wiped off the map. Residents were dislocated and needed immediate assistance through emergency employment in order to start recovery. The willingness of people to rebuild and their desire for new livelihood prospects prevented the affected communities from falling into long-term dependence on humanitarian aid.

For further information please contact:

ILO Country Office for the Philippines (CO-Manila)
19th Floor, Yuchengco Tower
RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue
1200 Makati City, Philippines
Tel. +632 8580 9900
Fax +632 8856 7597
Email