In Leyte island,Tanauan is the second largest municipality of the island, and located 20km south of Tacloban City, Capital of the Eastern Visayas region.
Tanauan has a population of 55,000 inhabitants. In November 2013, Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, crossed the Philippine archipelago, particularly striking the province of Leyte and the town of Tacloban. The United Nations has estimated the death toll in the town of Tacloban alone at over 10,000 people. The city and 90% of the area was destroyed, causing the displacement of 660,000 people. People living along the coast have been forced to migrate inland, tonon-floodable areas, but where everything remained to be done.
Early 2015, the construction of the relocation areas was completed, but planning by local authorities for access to water was non-existent. Thus, the families had no other choice but to buy water from informal sector resellers, taking advantage of the situation to impose very high prices: between 3 to 8 times more expensive than the local water operator price.
Eau et Vie was contacted by SOS Village NGO to deploy its service in their relocation sites, and is now providing safe access to drinking water in 3 areas : Sacme Prime Town, SOS Village and Pago Prime Town