Julieta Coro, a mother of 11 children who lives with her family close to the sea in Siargao island, recalls how they took shelter from super typhoon Odette’s destruction in December 2021.

One year after super typhoon Odette pummelled scenic Siargao island in December 2021, locals in the Philippines’ surfing capital –  the site of international surfing competitions – are bent on making their hometown stronger, better and an even more popular tourist haven. Still, there is nervousness about the changing behaviour of storms amid climate change.

School’s back. But Siargao’s education sector is recovering not only from COVID-19 but from the devastation of Odette – at a time when the reality of having more powerful storms in the climate emergency continues. “We don’t have typhoon drills,” says a local teacher.