What to do after the Typhoon hits in the Philippines

The Philippines is visited by an average of 20 typhoons annually.  Typhoons are very devastating natural calamities, they can destroy homes and even cause floods. Farmers are typically the most affected sector due to damages to agriculture crops and farmland.  

Here at Shoppiverse PH, we will discuss what things to do after the typhoon hits your area. What measures should be taken to avoid damage to property and body injury?  Although typhoons have ended it is important to exercise precautionary measures before going outside your home. 

What is the danger you might encounter after the typhoon hits your area?

Even though the strong wind and the rain wane down there is still a danger that you might be exposed to going outside your home. Below are some examples of those you must avoid at all costs.

• Live Electrical Wires and Leaned Electrical Poles 
• Broken Glass and other Sharp Debris
• Flooded Streets
• Uprooted Trees 
• Landslide

Being vigilant about the above-mentioned dangers makes you safe and avoids harmful things lurking after the typhoon.

What to do after the typhoon?

Never allow your children to go outside of your house to play or roam around after a typhoon because there is still a danger that might physically harm them and might result in injury.

 Assess your surroundings first and check for the damages that your house sustained. It is important to be extra careful when walking outside your house. Since there is some danger that might harm you and your family.

Check for damages in your home. If you can repair simple damage like loose windows and leaking roofs due to the typhoon you must fix them when the rain stops.  This will prevent your things inside the house from further getting soaked in the rain.

Avoid going down in floodwaters you might get yourself injured by broken glass and other sharp objects.  Another danger would be Electrocution when cut live wires fall into floodwater.

If you see electrical poles uprooted or trampled down or electrical wires dangling on the streets that are caused by the typhoon you should report it to your electricity provider because by doing this you help them speed up the assessment of damages in their facilities.

But if you have no choice but to face the floodwaters make sure to wear boots to avoid diseases like leptospirosis coming from rat urines you will be in great danger if you have an open wound on your feet.

Where to get food after the Typhoon? 

In our previous post, we discuss how to prepare things before a typhoon. And this includes preparing ready-to-eat foods.  But in the event that you have already eaten up all your food and you need to look for food for your family.

If you are in the province you are in great luck there are certain edible food that you can get after the typhoons. 

Papaya, Coconut, Banana, Kangkong, Talbos ng Kamote, and many more. Most of these crops are devastated and uprooted by typhoons. You can pick them up on the roads and sometimes you can get them to your neighbor for free your neighbor will offer them to you and this is the spirit of Bayanihan. 

The Local Government Unit through the Department of Social Welfare and Development provides and distributes food packs or food aid after the typhoon hit your areas. You can coordinate with the barangay officials if there are food packs available in your area.

Food packs typically contain ready-to-eat food like canned goods, noodles, powdered milk, coffee packs, and rice. This is enough for the family to survive at least a few days after the typhoon. 

Where to get drinkable water after the Typhoon? 

Water for drinking is also important and according to science, you can only live for 3 days without water so you need to find drinkable water after the typhoon. If your service water is cut after the typhoon you can opt to buy water in the water refilling station in your area. Because water station has big storage tank for water.  But make sure to refill your water early on because there will be a huge demand after the typhoon.  

The water service provider typically announces if they will conduct water ration service in your area. Make sure to watch for the announcement. 

In the event that there is no drinkable water available you can use rainwater as the last resort. But make sure to make the right steps in filtering the debris and processing it before using it as drinking water. 

In summary:

Survival is the first priority after the typhoon hits your area. Typhoons are so devastating that they can severely damage our properties, and livelihood, and cause a severe impact on our lives. Having a positive outlook on life after the storm passed will help us to rebuild whatever damages caused by the typhoon in our lives. Properties can be rebuilt, and Livelihoods can be replaced but let's put our top priority on the safety and our family.