NEARLY 20,000 families in various provinces in Luzon were displaced due to Super Typhoon Karding (Noru), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. said Monday, September 26, 2022.
In his report during a situational briefing led by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Abalos said that as of 5 a.m., a total of 19,368 families or 74,542 individuals in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Region 1 (Ilocos), Region 2 (Cagayan), Region 3 (Central Luzon), Region 4-A (Calabarzon), Region 4-B (Mimaropa), National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 5 (Bicol) were pre-emptively evacuated due to the weather system.
“The DILG issued necessary memoranda and advisories to all concerned LGUs to carry out necessary preparedness action for Super Typhoon Karding in accordance to the list of protocols such as the mobilization of barangay DRRMCs, implement pre-emptive or forced evacuation in areas with high to very high susceptibility of floods and landslides,” he said.
“Overall, napakaraming na pre-emptiveley evacuated at importante may disenteng pagkain may tubig at nakumbinsi na agad lumipat so that explains halos walang fatality po ngayon talagang napaghandaan po on the ground,” he added.
Majority of the displaced individuals were from Central Luzon (25,358) and Calabarzon (13,892).
The two regions were on the track of Super Typhoon Karding, which struck on Sunday, September 26, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
Karding made two landfalls, one in the vicinity of Burdeos Quezon at 5:30 p.m. and another in Dingalan, Aurora at 8:20 p.m.
It has reached maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (km/h) with gusts of up to 240 km/h prior to Quezon landfall. It slightly weakened before the Aurora landfall.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo assured that food and non-food relief items were already being distributed to the affected population, including those who were stranded in sea ports due to the cancellation of operations.
Tulfo said they are tapping the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to airlift some more relief supplies in hard-to-reach areas such as in Polilio Island.
“What we are organizing is to airlift materials, food packs, and water to Polilllo... The whole range of assistance is ready to go. Cash isn't very useful to them now,” Marcos said in a press briefing.
For his part, Department of National Defense (DND) officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. said several areas in Central Luzon and Calabarzon, among others, were still flooded following the onslaught of Karding.
He said assessment as to the number of damaged houses, infrastructure and agriculture is ongoing.
He said clearing operations on fallen trees, electric posts and other debris also continued Monday, especially to clear the major thoroughfares in the affected areas. (SunStar Philippines)