An important but often overlooked part of the ongoing Haiyan reporting is the internal displacement that the typhoon, which left thousands of people dead in its wake, also caused among the Philippines’ already vulnerable populations. While the Philippine government and humanitarian organizations have attempted to capture the accurate displacement situation, information gaps hinder their efforts.
A new report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center and the International Organization for Migration shows the extent of Haiyan-induced internal displacement and details the challenges that continue to encumber the monitoring of those who fled from their homes to escape Haiyan’s wrath.
Depending on how organizations gather their data, between 14.1 million and 16.1 million people were affected by the typhoon — the higher number represents the total population of the 14 most affected provinces. IDMC and IOM used 14.1 million in their report, including 4.1 million people who were displaced by Haiyan.