Over 438,000 individuals or more than 109,000 families were taking temporary shelter in evacuation centers after typhoon Odette wrought havoc in Visayas, Mindanao and parts of Luzon, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Monday, Dec. 20.
Based on the report of DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), as of 6 a.m, Dec. 20, a total of 109, 914 families or 438,359 individuals have been recorded as evacuees. They were staying in 2,481 evacuation centers.
The affected regions include Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao, and Caraga.
The DROMIC reported that 58,527 families or 193,043 individuals opted to stay with their relatives and friends.
The number of families affected by Odette reached 452,307 or over 1.8 million from 3,286 barangays.
Meanwhile, the DSWD reported 54,783 damaged houses, 34,681 of which were partially damaged and 20,102 were totally damaged.
The DSWD, local government units (LGUs) and non-government organisations (NGOs) have so far extended more than P14.58 million worth of assistance to the affected areas.
The DROMIC maintained that considering that most areas affected by Odette were experiencing power outages and have limited internet access, the gathering data on affected population was likewise affected.
“Ongoing assessment and validation are continuously being conducted,” it said.