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A clearing operation by the Department of Public Works and Highways in Caraga. (PNA file photo) CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Residents in Iligan City and parts of the Caraga Region affected by last month's Typhoon Odette continue to receive relief aid from various groups, including government offices. On Tuesday, the Revenue District Office (RDO) 101 of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) gave relief goods to 21 families in Iligan City whose houses got flooded during the typhoon. The recipients, identified by the City Social Welfare and Development Office, were from barangays Dalipuga, Buru-un, Upper Hinaplanon, Puga-an, Mandulog, and Digkilaan. Families with five dependents each received five sets of grocery packs and 25 kilos of rice. The RDO 101 also handed over PHP500 to each family to cover their transportation expenses during the distribution. Amanoding Esmail, Revenue District Officer of RDO 101, said in a statement the distribution was part of the community service of the bureau to assist victims of calamities such as "Odette." He hopes that the simple gift-giving would help ease the lives of those affected by the typhoon. "BIR is not only good at collecting taxes but we are also good at helping our countrymen who have been devastated by unpleasant disasters like typhoon Odette]," said BIR Revenue Region (RR)16 Director Emir Abutazil who witnessed the distribution. Abutazil said the RR16 received financial assistance from the BIR Makati which were divided among the three RDOs. For Iligan City, Abutazil said Esmail provided some augmentation funds to buy rice and grocery items for the affected families. Rohaima Panandigan of Barangay Mandulog thanked the RDO 101 for the support extended to them. She said the typhoon destroyed their house. Jennifer Estrellanes, of Barangay Dalipuga, recounted how the typhoon damaged their house, forcing them to relocate due to the risk of landslides in the area. NorMin 'bayanahin' Meanwhile, the Northern Mindanao Federation of Family Welfare Committees (NMFFWC) has initiated the "NorthMin FWP (Family Welfare Program) Bayanihan, Kaya Yan!" as its immediate disaster relief response to the affected member companies of the Caraga Family Welfare Council, Inc. (CFWCI) for ravaged communities and workers in Surigao provinces. The NMFFWC delivered essential goods and company products consisting of rice, bottled water, juice drinks, and other essentials to CFWCI president Ricky Tabasa of Sherlock Manpower and Security Services on January 7. NorthMin FWP: Bayanihan, Kaya Yan! is in line with NMFFWC advocacies for a sustained task, focusing on building a more disaster-prepared organization in taking significant strides towards assisting calamity victims. (PNA) }
RESCUE. Personnel from the Phil. Coast Guard District Northern Mindanao rescue stranded residents living near the flooded Bitan-ag Creek in Cagayan de Oro City as Typhoon Odette makes landfall in Mindanao Thursday afternoon, Dec. 16, 2021. The city recorded zero casualties in the aftermath of the typhoon. (PNA photo by Jigger Jerusalem) CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Typhoon Odette has left this city and Iligan with zero casualty in its aftermath Friday, despite having a maximum sustained winds of 195 kph, and gustiness of up to 240 kph. During the online coronavirus disease 2019 briefer, Dr. Teodoro Yu Jr., medical officer of the City Health Office took the time to thank the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) led by Nick Jabagat for its vigilant response and close coordination with rescuers and volunteers on the ground. Mayor Oscar Moreno said the local government was also thankful to partner organizations and agencies, adding that despite the threat of property destruction and cost of lives, the unified team was able to survive. "The sun is up again, we are glad we can now look back at Odette, (we are) relieved and comforted with the thought we were spared," he said. Moreno, however, lamented that disinformation online circulated anew, where old photographs of destroyed houses and dead people from the previous storm, "Sendong." "There were intense moments, still in the end we were spared by the Almighty. And to think, it's the 10th anniversary of Sendong," he said. "Sendong" left a historic mark in the city and Iligan City because despite having only a maximum sustained winds of 95 kph, and being smaller than Odette, it caused at least 2,500 deaths, especially in nearby river communities. Meanwhile, the Cagayan de Oro City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) was able to record 12,877 individuals or 3,270 families in 49 evacuation sites as of 9 p.m., Thursday, as a result of the forced evacuation implemented by the local government in flood-prone areas. Many of the areas with massive evacuation were the same villages hit by weather disturbances in the past, most notable among them were Sendong, Pablo, and Vinta. The Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 10 said it has prepared its standby funds and stockpile assistance consisting of family food packs valuing PHP80.6 million for utilization, while the health department has prepared its medicines and personnel support for rollout. Returning home Meanwhile, in Iligan City, Mayor Celso Regencia ordered the return of evacuees Friday after Odette left the Northern Mindanao Region. He said in an advisory that the Iligan CSWD and other concerned offices in cooperation with the Barangay Risk Reduction and Management Committees were directed to assist families returning to their homes. On Thursday, some 987 families or 3,481 individuals evacuated as the water levels in Mandulog and Iligan rivers rose due to continuous heavy rains brought by the typhoon. The first to impose forced evacuation was the council of Barangay Hinaplanon, the area in Iligan that was badly hit by typhoon Sendong. Iligan-CSWD officer-in-charge Jec Sacan said the families temporarily staying in identified evacuation centers come from 24 barangays that were affected by Odette. Sacan said the families were immediately given ready-to-eat food packs by the city government. Police Maj. Zandrex Panolong, public information officer of the Iligan City Police Office, said they have received a report of a drowning incident but their rescue team has yet to verify which barangay it happened. "As of 5:00 p.m. today (Dec. 16), there has been no report of destructions of lives and properties. We, however, continue our monitoring and our rescue team is on standby together with our partners," Panolong said. At 5:00 p.m., one lane of a bridge in Barangay Tubod was closed for the motorists because of the overflowing of floodwater. Alex Pana, the Maintenance Supervisor of Mercy Community Hospital in Barangay Tubod, said they sought help from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) because the flood water was overflowing to their hospital room. "We needed to evacuate around 20 patients to the other building (of the hospital) while waiting for the (Iligan) CDRRMO to help us make a hole of the concrete fence to divert the water or else our patients in the rehabilitation will also get flooded. They are afraid of water," Pana said in a phone interview. (PNA) }
Experts urged authorities to deal with Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) at the local level to help ensure that the strategies in place would be implemented more effectively.
Dr. Nimfa L. Bracamonte, project leader of the study on Disaster Management Towards Climate Change Adaptation