The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported on Saturday that a total of P35.851 million worth of food and non-food items were provided to the survivors of super typhoon Egay in different parts of the country by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), local government units (LGUs) and non-government organizations (NGOs).
OCD Director Edgar Posadas told a news forum in Quezon City that the aid also included logistical requirements of the Department of Health, OCD augmentation, and emergency telecommunication for search, rescue and retrieval teams on the ground.
With the entry of tropical storm Falcon in the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), Posadas said the NDRRMC-OC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-Operations Center) is on red alert to quickly respond to its possible effects.
“At sa ngayon po, para po tutukan iyong response efforts natin at maka-focus po tayo doon sa mga immediate needs na ipinararating sa atin, ang inyo pong NDRRMC-OC sa Camp Aguinaldo ay naka-Red Alert po and so with other nine regional offices po out of our 17 regional offices all over the country,” said Posadas, who is also the OCD’s spokesperson.
“Because ayon po sa pag-uulat kahapon, sir, during our weather outlook meeting sa Camp Aguinaldo, patuloy pong ie-enhance nito iyong habagat,” Posadas told the news forum.
“So basically, it’s the same preparation kaya nga po hindi po natin binababa iyong alert status ng emergency operation center ng OCD/NDRRMC sa Camp Aguinaldo and it is at its highest alert level po at red.”
Super Typhoon Egay and the southwest monsoon have affected 582,288 persons or 164,430 families, and 1,752 barangays, Posadas said, adding as of now, there are 312 evacuation centers in different regions sheltering 15,851 persons or 4,531 families.
As of reporting time, Posadas said among those preemptively evacuated were 17,179 persons or 3,398 families in 102 barangays in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Based on initial figures, the loss and damage to agriculture and fisheries is estimated to be more than a billion pesos, the OCD official said.
“Damage to infrastructure po in Regions I, Mimaropa, V, VI, XI, XII and BARMM – umaabot na po tayo sa P1.191 billion. Iyong other damages po, almost 10 million – P9.971 million,” he said.
“Damages po to houses, as of now po we have 9,429 damaged houses – 351 po iyong total and 9,078 iyong partial – ito po ay sa Regions CAR, I, II, III, Calabarzon, V, VI, X, XI, XII and BARMM.”
As of Saturday, 89 roads in CAR, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon regions Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Soccsksargen were damaged due to flooding, landslides and soil erosions.
Three bridges are also still not passable in Ilocos Region, Posadas added. *PND*
