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Gov’t continues to aid ‘Ursula’-affected families
FILE: A toppled electric post along a major highway in Tanauan, Leyte. The Leyte provincial government on Thursday (Dec.
26, 2019) placed the entire province under a state of calamity after Typhoon Ursula left a trail of destruction when it crossed the region on Christmas Eve.
(PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
MANILA — Families affected by Typhoon Ursula continue to receive aid from the government, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Air transport, military and private, has been utilized to deliver relief items, said NDRRMC executive director Ricardo Jalad in a statement released late Monday.
“To date, a total of PHP57,432,009.51 worth of food and non-food items pooled from the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), DOH (Department of Health), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), LGUs, NGOs, and other stakeholders have been provided to stranded passengers, evacuees, and affected communities,” he said.
Also, three C-130 flights by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and one PSI AIR 2007 were utilized by the OCD to deliver 38,215 kilograms of emergency shelter sheets/tarpaulins, blankets, shelter repair kits, “sakoline” (laminated sacks).
Some 6,600 sacks of rice, family food packs (FPPs), and non-food items (NFIs) from the DSWD as well as “WASH” needs and assorted medicines from the DOH were also delivered to augment stocks in the affected regions.
“Should the need arise for additional relief items, DSWD assured a standby fund of PHP500 million, as well as PHP85 million worth of FFPs and PHP605 million worth of standby NFIs. Further, DSWD is conducting assessment and validation to provide cash-for-work assistance to qualified beneficiaries,” Jalad said.
As of Monday, around 19,469 families or 77,473 individuals are still being served in evacuation centers.
Typhoon ‘Ursula” entered the Philippines last December 24 and severely damaged the infrastructure and agriculture of Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas.
