65, 445 families affected by 'Vicky' -- DSWD
Over 65,000 families or almost 280,000 persons were affected by the onslaught of Tropical Depression “Vicky” in four regions of the country in December last year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has reported.
The DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) said that as of 6 p.m., January 9, the number of families affected by "Vicky" had reached 65, 445 or 279, 984 persons in 369 barangays from Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Davao, and Caraga.
Based on the report, around 12, 007 families or 47, 502 individuals opted to stay with their relatives and/or friends and “have now returned home.”
Around 158 families or 397 persons continue to stay in two evacuation centers.
The DSWD and the local government units (LGUs) have extended P12 million worth of assistance to the affected families from the four affected regions.
Last year, the DSWD decided to streamline the process of providing relief assistance and basic services to calamity-stricken areas.
Even without an official request from local chief executives or administrators, DSWD Field Offices can now release food and non-food items to LGUs based on the official recommendation of DSWD field workers who conducted on-the-ground assessment and validation.
Under the previous set up, the affected LGUs have to request for augmentation support from the DSWD to capacitate them to handle emergencies or calamities.
Aside from the on-the-ground assessment and validation by the agency’s field workers, the DSWD said the Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA) and official reports of the National Office of Civil Defense could also warrant the immediate release of relief assistance.
Since RDANA is a disaster response mechanism that seeks to determine the extent of impacts and assess the priority needs of the communities, it can serve as a basis for expeditious delivery of relief aid, depending on the magnitude of the disaster as assessed by the Regional Office of Civil Defense and concerned agencies, the Department said.
"The DSWD Secretary, Undersecretary of the Disaster ResponseManagement Group (DRMG), or the Assistant Secretary of the DRMG, upon their assessment, can also direct the delivery of food and non-food items to the LGUs for distribution to the affected families,” it said.