The United Nations called for more support to victims of typhoon “Odette” to hasten the recovery of areas hit by the super typhoon.
Super typhoon “Odette,” international name “Raj” rammed the country a month ago, devastating many areas and affecting thousands.
UN Philippines Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez in a statement said there have been challenges, particularly COVID-19, which has hampered relief efforts.
The typhoon also caused restrictions in the movement of relief and aid efforts, Gonzalez said.
The UN executive said UN’s fundraising effort for typhoon survivors has so far only collected 39 percent the $107.2 million target, after a month since the fundraising effort was started.
“On behalf of the UN and the Humanitarian Country Team, I call on everyone to support this Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan to complement ongoing national efforts and bring help and hope to the people of the Philippines,” he said, quoted in an ABS-CBN report.
The super typhoon packed maximum sustained winds of 200 kilometers per hour when it hit the Philippines Dec. 16. It devastated parts of Mindanao and the Visayas, leaving nearly 400 people dead and almost a million displaced.
“It damaged infrastructure and livelihoods on a comparable scale to Typhoon Haiyan, forcing 2.7 million people from their homes, damaging almost l.4 million houses, and affecting 514 towns and cities, 100 of which still have power outages or no power at all,” said Gonzalez, referring to super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.