Tips for Anyone Considering to Travel to the Typhoon Areas

Parallel with the massive donations and aid efforts pouring in to the Philippines right now is also the growing number of private persons or small groups who plan to go to the typhoon struck areas to help. In particularly Tacloban.

Please, if you are also making such plans – ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the added value of my presence in the areas – how would I be able to make a significant difference?
2. Do I have a linkage with any organization?
3. Do I have a way to get there, survive there and get out of there again?
4. Do I have the capacity to process everything I will see and experience?
5. What is my plan when I get there and why do I need to go there?
6. Have I done a thorough risk assessment?
7. How do I avoid becoming a liability rather than an asset?

By going into a typhoon struck area you may be putting your own life at risk – needlessly. Many wish to go there to bring food and clothes, and it is a wonderful thought. However it’s limited what small groups can bring, and you have no way of knowing what you will be facing once you get there (if you even find a way). If you bring with you donations in kind enough for 50 families – what will you do when you face 500 more who will not get anything? How do you plan to distribute this and avoid chaos? Not only that, but what you will see and experience may traumatize anyone who has not been in such situations before.

I do not mean to discourage those who wish to help out, and I know that in several remote islands there have been only private persons and smaller NGOs who have provided support. But those already knew the areas well and had first hand knowledge of what was needed. They were assisting their neighboring islands.

Professional emergency assistance is NOT to be underestimated. Those who go into disaster areas through aid agencies are well trained, have experience and first-hand knowledge of how to handle various situations (including safety risks) and have a big network behind them. The more people who go to the areas who are not fully aware of what they are getting themselves into, the more frustrating the situation may become. In Norway we have a saying: “The more chefs, the bigger mess”.

I salute everyone who wish to be hands-on, and it CAN be life changing in some areas. But please, for the sake of own safety and better overall disaster management, ensure to get in touch with aid agencies or local government to get more information and tie-ups/local contacts before doing anything.

Also remember that we do not need to be directly in the disaster areas to make a difference – in most cases we can make an impact by acting from a distance.