The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is speeding up its relief operations to reach all families affected by Typhoon Nina, which hit the Philippines from December 23-27.

The second batch of family food packs (FFPs) numbering to 2,596 from the DSWD warehouse in Cebu arrived yesterday at Virac, Catanduanes. It was loaded by the C130 plane of the Philippine Air Force (PAF). This is on top of the 12,000 FFPs prepositioned in the province before the onslaught of the typhoon. Another 2,500 FFPs will arrive in the province anytime soon.

The Department is also providing additional FFPs to Region IV in the provinces of Quezon and Marinduque, which were also badly hit by ‘Nina.’ To check the damage caused by the recent typhoon in the region, DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo and other officials of the Department will join the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as it conducts an aerial assessment tomorrow, December 30.The target areas include those affected in Batangas, Quezon and Marinduque provinces.

The number of families affected by ‘Nina’ continues to rise as concerned regions submit their reports. According to the 2AM report by the DSWD Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC), the typhoon has affected a total of 206,812 families or 923,485 individuals in 813 barangays in Regions CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, and VIII.

Some 131,011 families or 590,069 persons were displaced; of which, 37,271 families or 152,112 individuals are sheltered in 831 evacuation centers, while 501 families or 2,367 persons chose to stay with relatives or friends.

The number of damaged houses also increased to 76,418 in Regions CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, and V; of which, 55,682 are partially damaged, while 20,736 are totally damaged.

To date, a total of P51,787,982.00 worth of relief assistance has been provided to affected families and stranded passengers in Regions CALABARZON, MIMAROPA and V. Of the said amount, the Department provided P50,556,437, while the LGUs provided a total of P1,231,545. The Department maintains its close coordination with its concerned field offices (FOs) to augment additional resources when needed.

DSWD Sec. Judy Taguiwalo said that the DSWD is doing its best to assist all families affected by ‘Nina,’ especially those located in far-flung areas.

“We are coordinating closely with our FOs and the local government units (LGUs) of the affected regions in order to extend help to families located in remote areas. We want to reach as many typhoon victims as possible,” she said. ###