By Leilani S. Junio
MANILA, Dec. 14 (PNA)–The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), as Vice-Chair for Response of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), advises residents along Typhoon Nona’s path to heed calls for immediate evacuation.
DSWD Secretary Corazon J. Soliman said that heeding to the calls to evacuate if necessary was a way to ensure safety of residents and achieve zero casualty as the typhoon continued to gain strength.
Aside from being vice-chair for response, DSWD is also the lead agency of the Food and Non-Food Cluster, Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster, and Protection Cluster under the humanitarian cluster system of the Council.
Soliman assured that relief supplies are enough for affected families.
In NCR, members of the disaster response teams at the DSWD-Central Office, together with other concerned government agencies, are now on 24-hour duty at the NDRRMC for the pre-disaster risk assessment.
In the typhoon-affected regions, DSWD disaster response teams are now on alert status to monitor the extent of the typhoon and to assist local government units (LGUs) in disaster operations.
To date, a total of Php 25,034,400.47 standby funds, 263,223 family food packs, and Php 185,670,882.86 worth of food and non-food items are available at the field offices in Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII, and at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City.
Likewise, concerned DSWD-Field Offices continue to preposition family food packs in the different provinces for easier and immediate distribution to affected families.
In Bicol Region, DSWD-Field Office V has prepositioned a total of 9,000 family food packs.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,000 passengers are stranded in Matnog Port in Sorsogon. They are now being assisted by the provincial LGU.(PNA)