50,000 Panay residents to greet New Year in evacuation centers

Electric posts felled by Typhoon “Ursula” block parts of the national highway in Panay town, Capiz province. —NESTOR P. BURGOS

ROXAS CITY –– More than 50,000 residents of Panay Island will meet the New Year in evacuation centers or in other people’s houses, a week after their houses were destroyed or damaged by Typhoon “Ursula.”

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) in Western Visayas reported on Tuesday that 12,548 families or 54,188 persons are still taking shelter in evacuation centers.

Many others have returned to damaged houses or rebuilt makeshift ones.

In the provinces of Aklan, Capiz, Antique, and Iloilo, strong winds and floods destroyed 17,795 houses and damaged 113,133 others, according to the RDRRMC report.

The most number was reported in Aklan with 10,463 houses destroyed and 70,361 others damaged, and Capiz with 9,639 destroyed and 38,083 damaged houses.

The Office of Civil Defense airlifted seven tons of shelter kits and tarpaulin sheets from Manila for those left homeless in Capiz on Sunday to help address the urgent need for temporary shelter for those left homeless.

The typhoon, considered the worst to hit Western Visayas since Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013, left 26 persons dead (16 in Iloilo and five each in Capiz and Aklan).

Two persons remained missing in Iloilo as of Tuesday morning.

Amid the devastation and losses, Capicenos were optimistic that they will recover soon.

“We were able to bounce back from the much serious devastation brought by Yolanda six years ago. We will surely stand up again if we help each other,” Mayor Ronnie Dadivas of Roxas City, one of the worst-hit areas, said.

Capiz Gov. Esteban Evan Contreras said while the needs for immediate assistance and rehabilitation are beyond the capacity of the provincial and municipal governments, the assistance from the national government and private donors would help hasten the recovery of the province.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas reported that it has given food and other assistance costing P8.96 million to those affected by the typhoon.

Local governments have also handed out assistance amounting to P2.13 million.

Various non-government organizations and private groups have also launched campaigns to assist the typhoon survivors.

In Roxas City, the Buylog Capiz and Filamer Christian University Community Extension Office have been distributing relief goods.

Business groups in Capiz, including the Capiz Halaran Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council, Roxas City Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants-Capiz have been donating food and other relief assistance./lzb