CATANDUANES, A WOUNDED PROVINCE

Typhoon Uwan made landfall in the Philippines on November 9, 2025 boasting maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h and with the storm measuring a diameter of 1,800 kilometers. Due to its wide characteristics, the super typhoon affected 13 out of 18 regions within the country.

Despite over 1.5 million people being pre-emptively evacuated, the national authorities reported over 6 casualties and 21 missing in its first landfall according to data from relief web. Figures posted by the Catanduanes Governor Patrick Azanza said that the super typhoon’s devastation was valued at over P5.74 billion.

Breaking the figures down even further reveals over P4.21 billion damages in infrastructure, P1.45 billion in agriculture, and P79.55 million in non-infrastructure properties. Azanza states that the rain lasted for almost one and a half days equating to over a month’s worth of rain.

He further stated that the sheer amount of rainfall loosened the topography of some major mountainous regions of Catanduanes leading to major landslides and flash flooding. Furthermore, he estimated that over 25,000 houses across 11 towns and villages within Catanduanes were ruined by the flash floods brought by the super typhoon.

Evacuation efforts from their corresponding municipality saw over 88,000 individuals seeking shelter from the storm. He added that over 70% of these evacuees were already returning to their respective homes.

However, Catanduanes farmers and fisherfolks are struggling to recuperate from the major losses they suffered amidst the landfall of the typhoon. Fisherfolks, in particular, have not been able to go back to shore as the boats that have sustained their livelihood for years were destroyed by the raging floods.

Catanduanes is also the center of the production of abaca whose plantations suffered severe damages to the extent that a report from the Department of Agriculture has stated that it would take over 1 to 2 years before several of the plantations can fully recover.

Data from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, sourced from consolidated reports from various DRRMOs, states that over 63,798 families or 214,964 individuals were affected across the region. At the early stages of recovery efforts after the landfall, only 5% of the households had electricity with efforts to renew electricity being estimated by the government to take months.

At the national level, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian assured the local government that they will provide food packs to the affected families. The Department of Information and Communications Technology has also committed to the distribution of over 37 Starlink satellite units to LGUs.

The damage in Catanduanes was extensive with landslides causing major roads to remain impassable across barangays. Brgy. San Miguel alone records four bridges that were completely destroyed by the typhoon. In terms of government facilities, sustained damages were also reported.

Over Php 3.34 million damages were reported to have damaged government facilities, Php 66.21 million in agriculture-related infrastructure lost, and school facilities facing losses amounting to over Php 378.95 millions.

Government agencies have declared that Catanduanes is the hardest-hit area by the typhoon with 1 reported fatality while the Bicol Region reported over 6 confirmed deaths according to the Bicol Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV pointed out that the province’s water system suffered from sustained damage which would take the corresponding authorities over 15 to 20 days to restore. Alejandro also committed to the distribution of over 10,00 family food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

From a much broader view, a report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reflects Bicol as the region with the most number of affected residents with over 1,414,412 individuals.

President Marcos Jr. recently visited Catanduanes to observe the devastation brought by Typhoon Uwan, leading the relief effort. As a part of his directive, he ordered the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to provide cash assistance to victims of the typhoon whose houses were destroyed and also donated two units of Starlink internet satellite.

CCNCI decries the government’s historical focus on relief aid while neglecting the disaster–risk reduction efforts that will severely hamper the effects of the next typhoon. It has been far too long that the Philippines is battered by the continuous landfall of typhoons, while the government is relegated to a mere provider of the most basic necessities that should have been upheld in the first place.

It is time for the government to consider genuine solutions to a worsening climate crisis instead of focusing on superficial aid.

𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀!

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀