Cebu-based mining firm Carmen Copper Corp. is conducting relief operations to help its communities recover from the devastation of Typhoon Odette (Rai) which hit Visayas and Mindanao on Dec. 16, 2021.
Carmen Copper, a subsidiary of Atlas Mining & Development Corp. and part of SM Investments’ portfolio of companies, said efforts started a week before the typhoon hit through regular posting of weather bulletin updates.
To further help prepare its communities in Toledo City for the oncoming weather disturbance, Carmen Copper posted relevant typhoon advisories on social media, it said in a statement.
While Typhoon Odette battered Cebu Province as it made landfall in the southern City of Carcar, some 37 kilometers from Toledo, Carmen Copper employees crossed the streets amid toppled posts and uprooted trees to deliver food packs to more than 100 residents of Barangay Cantabaco who were preemptively evacuated.
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They were among those who were immediately told to seek shelter on safer grounds before the Cantabaco River swelled to dangerous levels.
When the storm subsided, a team was sent out to conduct an ocular inspection of Carmen Copper’s host and neighboring communities.
With basic necessities such as water and food becoming scarce in the aftermath of the typhoon, Carmen Copper prioritized these provisions for its communities.
Immediate bulk containers were set up at key areas within the mine compound to provide nearby residents domestic water for free.
This was augmented by water trucks making rounds to reach more individuals, especially in the hinterlands. As of Dec. 31, more than 100,000 liters of domestic water had been distributed.
Potable water along with packs of relief aid were also given to members of the community. To date, more than 20,000 pieces of relief goods were distributed to Carmen Copper’s 17 host and neighboring communities.
The company said its extension of relief assistance is still going on and is now on its second wave.
Carmen Copper turned over 10 units of diesel-powered generators to the City Government of Toledo amid continued restoration of power supply in the city.
It also continues to provide immediate and long-term assistance to its employees and the community by maintaining strong communication with concerned stakeholders and actively joining consultations with the local government unit of its host city to help make a more resilient Toledo.