A year ago, a storm of epic proportions devastated the Philippines.
Typhoon Haiyan, thought to be strongest storm to ever make landfall, took the lives of more than 6,200 people and affected over 14 million people across 44 provinces. This included some 5 million children, out of which 1.7 million were displaced.
Just weeks after the disaster had wreaked havoc across the country, I went to visit the affected areas on behalf of Plan International. Driving out of Tacloban Airport, the scenes left an indelible and vivid impression. Lorries were loading up corpses that were still being discovered in shattered houses. In small rural settlements of Eastern Samar, huge chunks of the coastal roads had been ripped away and houses had been flattened, leaving little protection when the roaring tsunami-like wave tore the towns apart.
About the author
Nigel Chapman
Nigel Chapman is the chief executive officer of Plan International. Prior to Plan, he held various senior positions in news and current affairs with the BBC, spanning more than 30 years. He was the director of the BBC World Service and was the first director of BBC Online. He also served as the chair of BCC World Service Trust, the service's charitable arm, which uses communications and new technologies to aid development in some of the world's poorest countries.
