Tropical Storm Haiyan (called Yolanda in the Philippines) initially formed in Micronesia, then gained strength, continued west and made its first landfall at 4:40 a.m. on 8 Nov 2013 in Guiuan municipality of the Philippines' Eastern Samar province. (OCHA, 8 Nov 2013) Initial reports estimated that 4.3 million people were affected in 36 provinces. The Government accepted the UN offer of international assistance. (OCHA, 9 Nov 2013)

The number of affected people rose to 14 million across nine regions, including 4 million people who remained displaced from their homes. Humanitarian partners presented on 10 Dec the Strategic Response Plan (SRP) for Typhoon Haiyan, which requested US$791 million to complement the Government-led response and recovery efforts over the next 12 months. (OCHA, 10 Dec 2013) The typhoon ended up becoming the deadliest event of 2013 in the Asia-Pacific, killing more than 6,000 people. (OCHA, 31 Dec 2013)

One year on, the Government-led response is focused on recovery and long-term development. About 25,000 people still live in transitional sites and require inter-sectoral assistance. In addition, around 95,000 households (475,000 people) are estimated to be living in unsafe or inadequate makeshift shelters, and are considered highly vulnerable because of their limited ability to recover without further assistance. (OCHA, 31 Oct 2014)