2. The Philippines A group of over seven thousand islands off the coast of South-East Asia. A population of 100 million people. The third most ‘at risk’ country in the world, to natural disasters. Map showing the thousands of islands that make up the Philippines.

3. There are over 160 cultural groups and languages in the Philippines.

4. Most Filipinos are Catholic This church is being used to store food supplies after a typhoon. Can you see the damage to the church?

5. More than one third of Filipinos live in rural areas. Farmers grow rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane and bananas to sell.

6. The Philippines experiences many disasters including floods... Photo: Metro Manila

7. and earthquakes Photo: Bohol, Central Visayas

8. They have at least 20 typhoons a year. At least one of these typhoons will cause a huge amount of damage.

9. On 8 November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan hit parts of the Philippines. Can you see the ship that has been tossed by the winds onto the land in the town of Tacloban?

10. Many people died and half a million people lost their homes.

11. A large building at this school was destroyed.

12. Organisations like Caritas use the emergency cycle to help them plan their work after a disaster. (Sometimes called the Four R’s). The Emergency Cycle

13. Disaster occurs and leaves massed destruction...

14. RESPONSE Aid agencies and locals assess the damage and begin to clean up.

15. Emergency supplies are distributed.

16. Tarpaulins used for emergency shelter. These tarpaulins were donated by Catholic Relief Services, CRS, USA.

17. Food and clean water is distributed.

18. Sanitation kits are given out. What do you think might be in these buckets?

19. RECOVERY Houses are rebuilt using a lot of the timber left from the destroyed places.

20. People plant their own food again.

21. Reduce impact Communities are rebuilt so that there will not be so much damage in another typhoon. This house is strapped to the foundations with metal strips to make it more stable in a storm.

22. This village was moved away from a stream bed to prevent flooding if another disaster occurs. Water buffalo Destroyed coconut trees Built on higher ground

23. Readiness This typhoon shelter provides a safe evacuation centre in a storm or flood.

24. Caritas assists at every stage of the cycle. This is Anna This is xxx

25. With the help of agencies such as Caritas, Filipino communities will be able to Build Back Better so that they will manage better in future disasters.

26. Photos are by Louise Farr Mark Mitchell Reuters news