PBBM monitoring aid distribution in Visayas, Mindanao

FILE: Agad nagpaabot ang Kagawaran ng Kagalingan at Pagpapaunlad Panlipunan Field Office VIII ng family food packs (FFPs) sa Lokal na Pamahalaan ng Jipapad, Eastern Samar para sa mga naapektuhan ng pagbaha dulot ng malakas na pag-ulan noong ika-24 ng Disyembre 2022. (Photo: Department of Social Welfare and Development/Facebook)

Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), said the President is holding meetings with concerned government officials at Malacañan Palace in Manila to get updates on areas submerged in flood waters caused by the shear line.

“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is in Malacañan monitoring and holding meetings with several officials over various issues, including giving immediate assistance to those affected by the shear line rainfall and flooding in the Visayas and Mindanao regions,” she said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), upon Marcos’ directive, kicked off Sunday the relief operations in villages affected by the flooding in Visayas and Mindanao.

Based on the DSWD data, as of Monday, around 5,487 families or 69,323 individuals in 98 villages are affected by the massive flooding in the Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Caraga due to heavy rainfall caused by the shear line.

Some 9,409 affected families or 45,813 residents were in 34 evacuation centers in Caraga and Northern Mindanao.

Around 118 families were reportedly staying temporarily with their respective relatives in the area.

The shear line will bring moderate to heavy rains with at times intense rains over Southern Palawan, Eastern Visayas, Bohol, Caraga, and Northern Mindanao in the next 24 hours, according to a weather bulletin released by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The rest of Palawan, Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula will likely experience moderate to heavy rains.

Flooding and rain-induced landslides may occur “in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps and in areas with significant antecedent rainfall,” PAGASA said.

“The public and disaster risk reduction and management offices concerned are advised to take all necessary measures to protect life and properly,” it said.