2.7T FOOD PACKS, DOH 7 TEAM SENT TO BILIRAN
Medical team to help DOH 8 provide water sanitation, mental health and psychosocial services to residents. Navy vessel is on standby and ready to bring food and other donations from the private sector to Eastern Visayas.
The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) said that about 2,700 family food packs were sent to Biliran yesterday on board a vessel of the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen).
Presidential Assistant Michael Lloyd Dino said the food packs are part of the 20,000 total food packs intended for the families affected by tropical storm Urduja in Biliran Province.
Dino said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is sending the food packs by batches since rains and rough seas destroyed the food assistance in storm-affected areas in the past.
Pierre Jabagat of OPAV said that DSWD is just waiting for a closedtype vessel to send the other food packs to Biliran. The Navforcen vessel carrying the first batch of goods is a barge.
Jabagat said that Navforcen has a standby vessel to bring food and non-food donations from the private sector to Tacloban City, which was also affected by the bad weather.
“The Navy vessel for humanitarian aid to Eastern Visayas will be docking in Cebu today (yesterday),” he said.
The Department of Health (DOH) 7, for their part, has sent a team of medical personnel to Biliran to assist residents affected by Urduja.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH 7 director, said that their personnel will assist a composite team from DOH 8 and the Provincial Government who are providing water sanitation and hygiene, and mental health and psychosocial services to the residents.
“They will also assist in the initial response and capacitate local government units in the process,” he told SunStar Cebu.
DOH 7 also sent medicines and other supplies to Biliran.
In a related development, Daanbantayan, Cebu Mayor Vicente Loot said that the road in Barangay Tinubdan collapsed due to heavy rains brought about by Urduja. There was no other damage to government infrastructure in their area.
Based on the Department of Public Works and Highways estimates, Loot said that the cost of repairing the 110-meter Tinubdan road would be P50 million.
“We already sent to the Cebu Provincial Engineer’s Office the assessment of the damaged road,” Loot said.
As for houses and agricultural products, Loot said that the assessment on the storm’s damage was delayed because they were occupied with relief operations.
They will convene today the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Monitoring Center to finalize their report on the damage brought by Urduja. /