DSWD brings food packs to typhoon-hit N. Samar

TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has started transporting relief supplies to Northern Samar, which was hard-hit by Typhoon Ambo (international name Vongfong).

Some 1,350 family food packs were initially brought to Catarman town on Friday afternoon, Joshua Kempis, DSWD Eastern Visayas disaster response operation division information officer, said in a phone interview.

“These food supplies will be prepositioned in the province for immediate response and fast delivery, in case a local government unit (LGU) within the area requests for augmentation,” he added.

Each family food pack (FFP) contains rice, coffee, cereal drink, canned sardines, and corned beef good for three to five days for a family of five members.

Based on the DSWD inventory, a total of 4,814 FFPs are prepositioned for augmentation in typhoon-hit areas in Samar provinces. These include non-food items such as kitchen and sleeping kits.

The regional office has also pulled out 758 sacks of rice from the National Food Authority to increase its stockpiles.

There is also has a standby fund of PHP23.95 million that can be used to buy more relief supplies, Kempis said.

“As of now, we are still gathering reports on the number of families affected by the typhoon. Our response teams are now on standby, ready to assist our LGUs in the relief operations,” he added.

Ambo made landfall at 12:15 p.m on Thursday in San Policarpio, Eastern Samar.

The hardest-hit are the towns of Bobon, Laoang, Lope de Vega, and Mondragon in Northern Samar; and Arteche, San Policarpio, Jipapad, Oras, and Maslog in Eastern Samar.

Power outages hit 24 towns in Northern Samar, 18 in Samar, four in Eastern Samar, and two in Biliran due to damaged transmission lines. (PNA)