MANILA, Jan. 11 (PNA) - Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Juliano-Soliman said on Tuesday the agency has provided P6.4 million worth of relief assistance to the rain- and flash flood-battered provinces in Regions IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI and CARAGA. Soliman said that the assistance served to backstop the relief efforts being implemented by the local government units (LGUs) in the concerned provinces. She added that this brought to P26,327,516 the amount of aid provided by the DSWD, various non-government organizations, LGUs, and agencies to persons displaced by rains and flooding in the above-mentioned regions. Soliman also said that the DSWD has prepositioned P33.99 million worth of standby funds, family packs, and other food and non-food items in all concerned field offices. The resources are readily available for distribution to augment disaster relief operations of LGUs, when necessary, she said. The DSWD chief stated that the number of affected families has increased from 133,998 to 171,253 or 839,476 persons in 987 barangays in the eight regions. Around 5,256 families or 25,016 persons are still being served in 90 evacuation centers while 54,693 with 278,528 persons are being served outside evacuation centers. In Western Samar, four additional municipalities were reported to have been affected by floods, namely the towns of Gandara, Matuguinao, Motiong and San Jorge.
More than 2,700 families from 32 barangays in these towns were affected by floods and landslides. To prevent further damage, 40 families in Southern Leyte's Bontoc town were advised to stay at the evacuation center while heavy downpour continued to hit the area. Meanwhile, in Eastern Samar, 1,216 families were also affected, with 51 families evacuating at the Central School for safety. The municipalities of Catubig, Lapinig, San Roque and Silvino Lobos in Northern Samar were also reported to have been affected by flooding, displacing 39,182 families. Disaster operations continue in the affected areas in coordination with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) of the respective areas. In Bicol region, 25 evacuation centers remain open, serving 2,032 families with 10,272 persons from the municipalities of Bacacay, Camalig, Daraga, Malilipot, Manito, and Sto. Domingo in Albay. The DSWD regional disaster teams in the eight regions continue to operate 24/7 and coordinate with the LGUs to ensure immediate assistance in relief distribution, data generation, and management of evacuation
