Over 1.7 Million Children Hit as Super Typhoon Fung-wong Devastates Philippines

Families forced into evacuation centers face congested conditions that heighten the risk of disease outbreaks, exacerbate stress, and complicate access to clean water, basic sanitation, and maternal care.

More than 1.7 million children across the Philippines are bearing the brunt of Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the most powerful storm to strike the country in 2025. Making landfall on 9 November, the typhoon has unleashed catastrophic damage across 16 regions, compounding the hardships of communities already stretched thin by a year marked with multiple climate-related disasters and geophysical emergencies.

The storm, with its destructive winds and torrential rains, has damaged homes, schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure, placing millions at immediate risk and further destabilizing vulnerable households. According to the Philippine government, over 5.17 million people have been affected, including children now facing heightened threats to their health, safety, and well-being.

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Children Face Escalating Risks Amid Compounded Crises

“Children and their families are barely climbing out of one crisis before another strikes, pushing them back to zero. As the world experiences more frequent and intense climate shocks, the most vulnerable children should not have to pay the highest price,” said Kyungsun Kim, UNICEF Philippines Representative.

Children across affected areas now face a convergence of public health threats:

• Acute respiratory infections due to cold temperatures and exposure

• Diarrheal diseases linked to damaged water systems and overcrowded shelters

• Malnutrition complications, especially among displaced or isolated households

• Psychosocial trauma, particularly for children witnessing destruction and displacement

• Learning disruption from widespread school damage

Families forced into evacuation centers face congested conditions that heighten the risk of disease outbreaks, exacerbate stress, and complicate access to clean water, basic sanitation, and maternal care.

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Schools Destroyed, Safe Spaces Lost

Education has been devastated. More than 15,000 classrooms have sustained varying degrees of damage, and over 900 public schools have been converted into evacuation shelters.

This means that:

• Thousands of children have lost their primary learning environments

• Teachers and school staff are displaced or unable to resume classes

• School-based feeding programs and child protection services are interrupted

• Early learning, recreational activities, and safe spaces have been stripped away

For many children in the Philippines — where schools often act as hubs for support services — the loss of safe and predictable environments adds another layer of vulnerability.

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A Country on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis

For the past four years, the Philippines has been ranked by the World Risk Index as the most disaster-prone country in the world, facing relentless storms, heatwaves, landslides, floods, and earthquakes.

Climate change is intensifying weather events, making typhoons stronger, rainfall heavier, and recovery periods shorter. Communities in coastal and low-lying regions — many of them home to marginalized families — are especially at risk.

UNICEF stresses that the response must be more than short-term relief.

“We champion a multi-pronged approach – providing urgent life-saving support while working for child-centred climate policies, climate-resilient social services, and mobilising climate financing to safeguard communities,” Kim added.

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UNICEF and Government Partners Mobilize Emergency Response

UNICEF teams, along with Philippine government agencies and humanitarian partners, are conducting joint assessments to identify urgent needs in:

• Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)

• Health and emergency care

• Nutrition

• Education and temporary learning spaces

• Protection and psychosocial support

• Social protection and financial assistance

Pre-positioned emergency supplies from UNICEF hubs in Manila and Cotabato are being deployed to support affected households. These include:

• Water purification tablets and containers

• Hygiene kits

• Emergency latrine supplies

• Child-friendly spaces materials

• Health kits for emergency responders

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Protecting Children from Malnutrition and Hunger

To prevent malnutrition-related deaths, UNICEF is sending crucial nutrition supplies to the hardest-hit areas:

• Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for severely malnourished children

• Therapeutic milk for children suffering from acute malnutrition

• Breastfeeding kits and support for mothers

• Micronutrient supplements

These interventions aim to ensure continuity of lifesaving care and reduce the risk of malnutrition spiraling due to food scarcity or disrupted health services.

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Emergency Cash Assistance to Help Families Recover

With support from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), UNICEF is preparing to distribute US$540,000 in emergency cash assistance to vulnerable households in Catanduanes, one of the provinces hit hardest by the storm. The program is expected to expand as further assessments identify additional needs.

This assistance will be delivered through existing national social protection systems to ensure families can receive support quickly, safely, and transparently.

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Responding to a Year of Consecutive Disasters

Even before Super Typhoon Fung-wong, Filipino communities were already recovering from a series of powerful typhoons and earthquakes since October. In recent weeks, UNICEF has provided water and hygiene kits to about 6,000 households in Cebu, Davao Oriental, and the Dinagat Islands.

The arrival of another destructive storm threatens to push thousands of families deeper into poverty and insecurity, highlighting the urgent need for long-term, climate-resilient infrastructure and child-centered disaster policies.

As the Philippines confronts yet another major climate-induced emergency, UNICEF is calling for stronger investments in disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, resilient schooling, and robust social protection that can withstand the escalating impacts of climate change.