BAGUIO CITY – Around 14,495 families have been affected by the series of weather disturbances in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), starting with Typhoon Nika (international name Toraji) last Nov. 11.
In its report as of 6 p.m. Monday, the DSWD-CAR said 86 families remain in evacuation centers while 328 families have sought shelter in houses of friends or relatives.
In this city, the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) said 54 families were displaced due to Typhoon Pepito (Man-yi) alone.
It said 42 families are staying at the CDRRMO office, which also serves as an evacuation center, while two are staying at the San Luis Village village hall and seven are staying with houses of relatives or friends.
Local government units in areas at the path of the typhoons have continuously urged residents in high risk areas to preemptively evacuate to protect lives.
Maria Aplaten, DSWD-CAR regional director, told the Philippine News Agency Monday they continue to provide food packs and non-food items as augmentation to local governments.
She also said they continue to process financial assistance to the affected households.
“We commend our personnel who initiate the conduct of psychosocial activities in evacuation centers to avoid any further problems being experienced by the victims,” she added.
Meanwhile, Aileen Refuerzo, chief of the Baguio City information office, said they have not recorded any casualty or injury from Pepito.
She said the city government has reiterated the importance of preparedness as the best safety to minimize the effect of a calamity.
“Dahil tuluy-tuloy na ang typhoon, parating paalala sa importance ng paghahanda kasi hindi tayo pwedeng maging kampante dahil unpredictable ang calamities (The series of typhoons necessitates constant reminders on preparedness because we cannot be complacent with calamities being unpredictable),” she said. **Liza Agoot