The Philippines is a country that is not a stranger to powerful December storms. On 16 December 2021, Typhoon Odette (International: Rai), a super typhoon equivalent of category 5 hurricane with160mph winds has made landfall on Siargao Island in the southeastern part of the country, the final storm of the year, a beast. It made several other landfalls as it intensified and moved through the country.
It was difficult to prepare or evacuate for a super typhoon that rapidly strengthened from category 1 to 5 within the same day. Due to this rapid intensification of Typhoon Odette, more than 300,000 people were evacuated ahead of landfall with 16 million estimated at risk according to National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), more than 10,000 villages mainly in the Visayas and Mindanao and some parts of Southern Luzon were in the path of the typhoon.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) operations center classified the high-risk regions as MIMAROPA, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKARGEN, and Caraga; medium risk regions as Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, Bicol, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao, BARMM; while low risk regions as NCR, Central Luzon, and CAR.
The AFP has deployable assets or resources for search, rescue, and retrieval with 3,175 SRR teams, 558 land assets, 281 sea assets, and 8 air assets.
As such, the PAF’s UH-1H “Huey” combat utility helicopters were utilized in the humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette to aid in transporting relief goods in the Visayas area. PAF Spokesperson, LTC MAYNARD MARIANO PAF said, “The UH-1H fleet took off for the first HADR mission on 28 December 2021. PAF personnel and its air assets have been working round-the-clock in providing relief operations to areas affected by Typhoon Odette.”
Captain George Goking, a PAF reservist and Cagayan de Oro City councilor recognizes and commends the PAF as the generous partner in pre-emptive evacuation, search, rescue, and relief missions in far-flung areas of the Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions. Various Reservist units helped in transportation assistance to trapped flood victims, consolidation and distribution of relief goods, and cash assistance to different areas of Cagayan de Oro City, Butuan City, and Surigao.
The PAF worked with various partners and stakeholders in the local community to collect, consolidate, and donate relief packages to calamity-stricken families in affected areas. The relief items were loaded onto the PAF’s C-130 military aircraft and transported to high-risk areas where they are turned over to the national government through the NDRRMC as the main distributor of such donations.
Bringing temporary relief and happiness to those affected by Typhoon Odette and serving a small token to the victims for them to enjoy Christmas and New Year despite what happened to them, the Philippine Air Force proves itself as an ally that can rapidly mobilize and bring aid to those who need it.