Half a million people made homeless by the Taal volcano eruption will need immediate and long-term support as they face growing uncertainty over whether they will ever be able to return to their towns and villages.
As the volcano continues to erupt, Save the Children is warning of a prolonged crisis that could see hundreds of thousands of people unable to return to their homes for months and forced to live in evacuation centers or with friends and relatives. The Philippines government estimates that in the worst-case scenario communities may not be able to return for up to seven months, though that could change should there be a catastrophic eruption.
According to government figures, at least 580,000 pupils from more than 1,000 schools have been missing out on classes for the past two weeks, due to heavy ashfall in the provinces around the volcano and schools being used as evacuation centers. Of this figure, an estimated 55,000 schoolchildren come from the six abandoned towns located in the 14km danger zone where many classrooms are damaged and buried under hazardous ash. Many of these students could fall behind and miss graduation in three months, affecting their future job prospects. Meanwhile, more than 300 schools are still being used as evacuation centers.