RELIEF GOODS. Food packs readied by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 8’s (Eastern Visayas) office in Tacloban City for areas threatened by strong winds and heavy rains due to “Ursula”. As of Monday (Dec. 23, 2019), relief items on standby at the DSWD warehouses in the region included 6,416 family food packs, 568 sacks of rice, 5,557 cans of beef loaf, 4,053 cans of corned beef, 144,644 sachets of coffee, 2,000 blankets, and 6,029 pieces of malong. (Photo courtesy of DSWD Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has prepositioned thousands of relief items and activated response teams as part of preparedness measures for the possible effects of Typhoon Ursula.
On Monday, the DSWD conducted an emergency preparedness and response meeting and inventory of the prepositioned food and non-food items.
As of December 23, relief items on standby included 6,416 family food packs, 568 sacks of rice, 5,557 cans of beef loaf, 4,053 cans of corned beef, 144,644 sachets of coffee, 2,000 blankets, and 6,029 pieces of malong (tube skirts).
“Each food pack ready for distribution contains 6 kg. of rice, four cans of corned beef, four cans of meatloaf, and six sachets of coffee good for three to five days for a family of five members,” Joshua Kempis, information officer of the DSWD’s regional disaster operations, said in an interview.
A standby fund of PHP1.47 million can also be used to purchase additional relief materials when necessary, he said.
The DSWD clarified though that in any disaster, the local government units are always the first responders.
“We are following the protocol. Each town also has its own prepositioned relief items and funds intended for disaster operations. When needed or (when) they run out of supply, they can request for augmentation from our office,” Kempis said.
Personnel will also be assigned to monitor situations and coordinate with their local counterparts in need of assistance.
On Tuesday morning, five of the six provinces in the region were placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 with winds of 61 kph to 120 kph in the next 24 hours. These are Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Leyte, and Biliran. Southern Leyte was placed under TCWS No. 1.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Tropical Storm Ursula continued to intensify as it moved closer to Eastern Visayas.
In its advisory released at 11 a.m. Tuesday, PAGASA estimated the center of the storm at 185 km. east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, with maximum sustained winds of up to 110 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 135 kph.
The storm was moving west-northwest at 20 kph. (PNA)
