Local leadership and community matter: Establishing a transit station for exiting disaster survivors

This paper describes the experience of a municipality in the Philippines which became a transient station for disaster survivors seeking to move out of the area heavily affected by the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan-TY Surge. More specifically, it aims to examine the driving factors enabling the local government to provide relief services and explores the role of transport system in ensuring the mobility of people after a disaster. After typhoon Haiyan, there was a sudden surge of survivors moving to areas where sea transportation is available. One such area is the Municipality of Hilongos. The presence of transient survivors in the municipality moved its local government to provide relief assistance without prior preparations. The experience of Hilongos offers several insights regarding the nature of disaster spillover effects and the potential role of a nearby local government in providing assistance to areas stricken by a disaster. It also highlights the role of the transport sector in providing services during emergency disaster situation. Data for this paper were culled from the secondary data and key informant interviews with government officials as well as an FGD with the Quick Response Team of Hilongos Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office. The experience of the local government of Hilongos suggests the need to craft a holistic, systemic, and collaborative approach in dealing with disaster-related effects or outcomes.