Disaster-induced internal displacement in the Philippines: the case of Tropical Storm Washi/Sendong

This report, from a consortium of experienced international and Filipino actors, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the response to the Sendong disaster and the recovery process. It describes in detail the Philippines’ developing corpus of laws on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and draws out linkages between disaster preparedness, disaster impacts, responses, displacement and the subsequent, often prolonged, search for durable solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The report is informed by the results and insights of surveys of several hundred people affected and displaced by Sendong, and interviews with key state and non-state actors. It shows that understanding how Sendong was transformed from a tropical storm into a major catastrophe must be based on an analysis of the physical, environmental, socio-economic, institutional and political factors that led to the disaster and post-disaster outcomes in northern Mindanao.

It recommends that all actors – civil servants, civil society and communities – need to work together to reduce the exposure of vulnerable people, homes and other assets to natural hazards, and asserts the following recommends: address the implementation gap; amend existing laws and review policies and guidance; systematically collect disaster-related data; support DRR training; raise public awareness; rebuild better – and taller; improve the security of land tenure; use the may 2013 nation-wide elections to demand accountability from elected officials; ensure transparency in the reconstruction process.