Super Typhoon Haiyan: Crisis Theory

The strongest typhoon this year slammed into the central Philippines on friday 8 Nov, setting off landslides and knocking out power and communication lines in several provinces. Huge, fast-paced Typhoon Haiyan raced across a string of islands from east to west — Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Panay— and lashed beach communities with over 200 kilometer (125 mile) per hour winds. Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kph (147 mph) with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall. That makes it the strongest typhoon this year.The Philippines, which is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year. By 5 p.m. Friday, the typhoon — one of the strongest storms ever — was centered to the west of Aklan province on Panay Island, 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of Manila, after blasting the island resort of Boracay.

The Philippines endures a seemingly never-ending pattern of deadly  typhoons, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and other natural disasters.

This is because it is located along a typhoon belt and the so-called Ring  of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth’s earthquakes and  volcanic eruptions occur.

source: New Straits Times

The natural disaster bring a various of impacts:

• leaving a wide swath of destruction and thousands of people dead.
• destroying countless homes.
• break down power and communication lines. 
• flights were also cancelled.
• forcing millions of people to flee to safer ground or evacuated  and take refuge in storm shelters. 

“I have no house, I have no clothes. I don’t know how I will restart my life, I am so confused,” an unidentified woman said, crying. “I don’t know what happened to us. We are appealing for help. Whoever has a good heart, I appeal to you.

"I am alone here, but worried over my family's condition, I cannot contact them since there is no transportation and communication. I just hope they are all safe,"

“People are walking like zombies looking for food,”

"Some people are losing their minds from  hunger or from losing their families,”

“People are becoming violent. They are looting business establishments, the  malls, just to find food, rice and milk... I am afraid that in one week, people will be killing from hunger.”

There are some crisis happen in that disaster:

We can see that the crisis cause threatening to them. there is an apparent inability to modify or reduce the impact of stressful events. There is increased fear and traumatic among victims because disaster happen suddenly and unexpectedly by them. There is a high level of subjective discomfort. A state of disequilibrium to their life when their homes destroyed in short time. they can't accept that situation and unable to coping with that situation.

As a social worker, we can defining the problem a through biopsychosocial of Filipino typhoon survivors. What the current problem that should be priortize in that times. Determine whether their need food, shelter, water, medical attention, self-support or any form of aid such as help for search victim's family. At that situation, social worker should evaluated quickly, accurately, and comprehensive based on victim's affective (emotional), cognitive (thinking), and behavioral (action). Social worker also can encourage them to explore their feeling and emotions. So that, the victims be able to stay calm and appear to be "back to normal". Apart of that, social worker shall be help them to identify coping skills, resource, and support that available to them after that tragedy.