More than 4,000 families or more than 15,000 individuals displaced by severe tropical storm ‘Maring’ are currently staying in evacuation centers.
This was reported by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday, Oct. 18, as it assured the local government units (LGUs) affected by Maring that their resources will be augmented to respond to the needs of their constituents.
As of Oct. 14, the DSWD recorded 4,299 evacuee-families or 15,017 individuals. They are currently taking temporary shelter in 104 evacuation centers in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), it said in a statement on Monday.
The Social Welfare department said a total of 4,432 families or 21,357 persons opted to stay with their relatives and/or friends.
“As of the October 14 report, the DSWD extended over P2.2 million worth of assistance to the province of Cagayan, while more than P977,000 worth of aid were distributed to families affected by landslides in the provinces of Abra and Benguet.”
The DSWD said should the affected LGUs request for augmentation support, it has stockpiles and standby funds amounting to more than ₱2 billion, which can be tapped for disaster response operations.
Of the amount, more than ₱1.12 billion has been earmarked as available standby funds in the DSWD Central Office and its Field Offices (FOs).
The DSWD said a total of 373,169 family food packs (FFPs) were available for distribution as they were prepositioned in strategic locations around the country.
“Through its concerned Field Offices, the DSWD will continue to coordinate with the affected LGUs, which are the first responders during disasters, to ensure that the immediate needs of their affected constituents are immediately addressed,” it said.