PHOTO ARCHIVE
2014.03
Staying Strong and Positive
in the Wake of a Natural Disaster
-Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Emergency Relief Aid-
In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines) devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. Originating near the Federal States of Micronesia, it was the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines in recorded history, with maximum wind speeds of 105 m/s at landfall. It was also the country's deadliest typhoon on record, killing at least 6,000 and leaving an estimated 2,000 people missing. Roughly 16 million people across the country were affected by the storm, with 1.1 million homes either severely damaged or destroyed and 4.1 million people displaced. Six months after the storm, the country had yet to make a full recovery.
This report focuses on the clothing aid that Fast Retailing provided to the residents of Tacloban on Leyte Island, which was one of the areas that was hit hardest by Haiyan. This initiative was made possible with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Community and Family Services International (CFSI), a local non-governmental organization.
These photos provide insight on the local situation. They were taken by photographer Naoki Ishikawa, who accompanied the Fast Retailing team on this trip.
Click any photo to open slideshow:
＜Photographer＞ Naoki Ishikawa
He was born in Tokyo in 1977. In 2000, he was involved in the Pole to Pole project, in which he and his companions traveled from the North Pole to the South Pole on foot, by kayak and bicycle. In 2001, he completed the Seven Summits challenge. In 2006, his publication The Void received the Sagamihara Emerging Photographer Incentive Award and the Annual Miki Jun Award. In 2008, he received the Newcomer's Award from the Photographic Society of Japan, the Kodansha Publication Culture Award for Photography for two of his publications - New Dimension and Polar. He is also an author whose works include Ima Ikiteiru toiu Bouken (The Adventure of Living Now) and Saigo no Bouken-ka (The Last Explorer), which won the Kaiko Takeshi Non-Fiction Award. He worked with UNIQLO on the UT x UNHCR Charity T-Shirt Project* in 2009 and appeared on a fleece commercial in 2010.
**The UT x UNHCR Charity T-Shirt Project was started by UNIQLO to raise funds to help support refugees. All proceeds from this charity project are donated to UNHCR.