Super Typhoon Lando Hits the Philippines; Heifer Families Lose Crops, Houses to Storm

By Heifer International

September 30, 2019

Last Updated: October 19, 2015

Super Typhoon Lando Hits the Philippines; Heifer Families Lose Crops, Houses to Storm

UPDATE: Friday, 3 p.m.– While many Heifer project participants sustained damage to crops and homes due to Super Typhoon Lando, we are happy to report that all participants are safe.

The two active Heifer projects in the affected regions escaped major damage, and the communities there are already rebuilding the where needed. The community groups Heifer forms as part of these projects (Self-Help Groups) immediately came to each other’s aid and repaired damaged houses.

Heifer Philippines staff describe the spirit of the participants as bayanihan, a Filipino term referring to the spirit of communal unity or the effort to achieve a goal together.

All damages were reported to local government units as part of the rapid assessment protocol, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development provided relief material to severely affected families. We will provide farm material, primarily seeds, to affected project families. Further support is still being determined by the in-country team. 

Road blocked by fallen trees
A road in Quezon, Isabela, is blocked by trees felled by Super Typhoon Lando.

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UPDATE: Monday, 9 a.m.—Heifer Philippines on Monday dispatched teams to assess the two active projects that were in the path of Super Typhoon Lando, and while all families and livestock were reported safe in the Isabela region, it appears the RICSA project in the Kalinga province sustained damage from wind, rain and landslides.

Some Heifer communities in Apatan and Balayangon in the Kalinga province were inaccessible because a landslide had blocked passage on the road, said Jun Dom-oguen, Heifer Philippines program officer in Luzon. The team will continue to try to reach the families there.

Dom-oguen said that other families in Kalinga had lost more than 270 acres of rice, corn, bananas and vegetables. A handful of families in various communities saw their homes damaged from wind and falling trees, while another 11 families' homes were hit by landslides. The extent of the damage from the landslides is still unclear. 

You can help our farmers recover by donating to the Disaster Rehabilitation Fund. 

Heifer projects in the Philippines
Heifer has two active projects in the Northern region of the Philippines where Super Typhoon Lando made landfall Sunday.

Lando, known internationally as Koppu, made landfall in the Isabela area of the northern Philippines island of Luzon at 1 a.m. local time Sunday morning. Heifer is supporting about 2,400 families in the two active projects on the island. The storm came ashore near Casiguran with maximum sustained wind speeds of about 149 mph—a force equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.

Heifer will continue to assess the damage to our projects and will update further here. We will also supplement the work of other relief organizations to ensure our farmers become more resilient in the wake of this disaster. 

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UPDATE: Sunday, 3 p.m.— Heavy rainfall from Super Typhoon Lando is forcing Heifer Philippines staff to postpone damage assessments of our two active projects in the Kalinga and Isabela regions where the storm came ashore, the team said Sunday.

Lando, known internationally as Koppu, made landfall in the Isabela area of the northern Philippines island of Luzon at 1 a.m. local time Sunday morning. Heifer is supporting about 2,400 families in the two active projects on the island. While Heifer staff in Manila had received reports of strong winds, driving rains and road closures, they had received no reports of damage as of 11 a.m. Philippine time, 10 hours after the storm hit.

All of Heifer continues to hope for the best as we await further information. 

Learn how to help our farmers in the wake of disaster.

Lando came ashore near Casiguran, a city populated by about 25,000 people, with maximum sustained wind speeds of about 149 mph – a force equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. The storm is moving at an extremely slow pace, and is predicted to linger over Luzon for three days and drop significant rainfall in Mt. Province, Isabela, Kalinga and other areas, potentially triggering landslides and mudslides along with the certain flooding and storm surge hazards.

assessing flooding
Community members assess the flooding in Quezon, Isabela, after Super Typhoon Lando dumped heavy rains in the area.

The extent of damage to Heifer projects is still unknown, though should any damage occur, we will supplement the work of relief organizations to help our farmers recover.

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Super Typhoon Lando, known internationally as Koppu, made landfall in the Isabela area of the northern Philippines island of Luzon at 1 a.m. local time Sunday morning. Luzon is home to about half of the Philippines' population of 98 million, and Heifer has two active projects in the Kalinga and Isabela regions that are supporting at least 2,400 families combined.

Lando came ashore near Casiguran, a city populated by about 25,000 people, with maximum sustained wind speeds of about 149 mph – a force equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. The storm is moving at an extremely slow pace, and is predicted to linger over Luzon for three days and drop significant rainfall in Mt. Province, Isabela, Kalinga and other areas, potentially triggering landslides and mudslides along with the certain flooding and storm surge hazards.

The extent of damage to Heifer projects is still unknown. We will be updating this blog post as new information becomes available. As soon as we know the extent of the damage to our projects, we will supplement the work of relief organizations to help our farmers recover.

Learn how to help our farmers in the wake of disaster.