Background

On 9 August 2009, Typhoon Morakot struck China’s south-east coast destroying hundreds of houses and flooding farmland. Almost one million people were forced to evacuate ahead of the storm, which hit with winds of up to 119km/h.

Typhoon Morakot caused wide-spread damage in southern and eastern Taiwan. Massive flooding damaged transportation infrastructure and submerged many homes forcing residents to evacuate and stay in shelters or find temporary housing with friends and relatives.

The death toll climbed to more than 120 people in Taiwan.

In China, Typhoon Morakot affected 8.8 million people across Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces. Reports indicate that six people were killed, and 1.4 million people were evacuated to safety.

In the Philippines, a reported 13,000 people were displaced in Zambales.

World Vision’s Response

World Vision provided immediate relief to affected families in Taiwan and the Philippines. In China, World Vision monitored the situation and decided a response was not necessary in the well-resourced coastal province.

Taiwan

World Vision's response effort in Taiwan assisted over 8,700 people, with activities including:

• The provision of food, clean water and cleaning materials to households
• The distribution of relief kits including food, wter, clothing, cleaning appliances and items for children to over 5,000 families
• The provision of shelter materials
• The establishment of 10 Child Friendly Spaces to care for more than 4,451 children

Philippines
The response effort in the Philippines included:

• Provision of food aid to nearly 2,000 displaced families
• Distribution of bread and water to almost 800 people, including 264 children in two evacuation centres 

Children Sponsored by Australians

In the Philippines, some families from sponsorship programs took refuge in evacuation centres or with relatives. No sponsored children were reported injured.

No Australian funded projects were affected in China and Taiwan.