DSWD sends aid to locals affected by TS Kristine in Bicol

MANILA: The Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) Field Office (FO) in Bicol Region on Tuesday started assisting individuals and families affected by Tropical Storm Kristine. 'Following the issuance of a forced evacuation order in the province of Albay, members of the DSWD's Municipal Action Team in Region 5 were immediately deployed to assist in setting up modular tents and profiling of displaced families in evacuation centers located in the municipality of Jovellar,' DSWD Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a news release on Wednesday. Aside from assisting in evacuation centers, DSWD personnel were also present to distribute hot meals to stranded individuals in various ports in the Bicol Region. In Tabaco Port, Albay, some 645 stranded passengers received hot breakfast meals worth over PHP63,000, through the help of the provincial government of Catanduanes. Meanwhile, more than 700 stranded individuals in Matnog Port in Sorsogon province wer e given breakfast packs amounting to PHP30,000, through the assistance of the Local Government Unit of Matnog. The DSWD FO-5 also distributed packed hot meals worth PHP17,406.60 to some 628 passengers stranded in Pio Duran Port in Albay province, said Dumlao, also the DSWD spokesperson. In the Eastern Visayas Region, the DSWD Field Office-8 has activated its Quick Response Teams (QRT) to monitor the possible effects of Kristine in the region and assist in the immediate facilitation of disaster relief augmentation assistance, if needed. All concerned DSWD FOs along the track of the tropical storm are also on standby for possible relief augmentation requests and other forms of assistance. Source: Philippines News Agency