TABUK CITY, Kalinga (PIA) — Almost P1 million worth of assistance has been extended to families affected by tropical cyclones Nika and Ofel in Kalinga, as of Nov. 17, 2024.
The Provincial Disaster Risk and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported that P952,318 worth of relief aid was distributed to typhoon-affected families by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), local government units (LGUs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The DSWD provided family food packs while LGUs extended food and non-food items. NGOs also supported evacuees and affected families by distributing hot meals.
The two typhoons displaced 1,936 families or 7,481 individuals across the province. Some 1,058 families were forced to evacuate with 473 seeking shelter in evacuation centers and 585 stayed with relatives.
As of Nov. 17, almost all evacuees have returned to their homes, according to the PDRRMC report.
Three families remain in evacuation centers, and 16 families continue to stay with relatives due to damaged or unsafe housing conditions.
In a related effort, SWAD-Kalinga recently delivered family food packs to residents of Barangay Upper Uma in Lubuagan where access roads were rendered impassable due to soil erosion and landslides caused by the tropical cyclones.
“Agyaman kami unay ta adda met naited ti gobyerno kadakami nga ayuda habang maisimsimpa ti kalsada mi nga nadadael gapu ditoy naglabas nga bagyo,” Rowena Soco, a resident of Barangay Uma, Lubuagan, said in an interview.
The PDRRMC assured the continued provision of relief assistance to affected communities while expediting recovery efforts in the affected areas. (JDP/RGA-PIA-CAR, Kalinga)
