DSWD readies 2.4 million food packs amid another potential cyclone
DSWD
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday, Sept. 30 assured the public that more than 2.4 million family food packs are prepositioned nationwide and readily available for distribution should the low-pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) affect the country in the coming days.
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DSWD spokesperson and Disaster Response Management Group Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the agency continues to replenish its warehouses while providing aid to families hit by recent tropical cyclones.
She added that mechanized packing systems at the Luzon and Visayas Disaster Resource Centers are enabling the department to scale up production and sustain its target stockpile of three million family food packs.
Dumlao also said aside from food and non-food items, the DSWD has ₱379 million in standby funds for relief operations.
Disaster response vehicles and equipment, such as mobile kitchens, mobile water stations, and mobile command centers are also ready for deployment to affected areas.
In its 5 p.m. public briefing on Tuesday, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather specialist Charmagne Varilla said the LPA, located 1,070 kilometers east-northeast of Eastern Visayas, was moving west-northwestward.
It has a medium chance of developing into a tropical cyclone within the next two days. If it develops into a tropical cyclone within the PAR, it will be given the local name “Paolo.”
Varilla added that the weather disturbance may cross parts of Northern Luzon in the coming days.