Aid won’t stop for Cotabato earthquake evacuees

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Cotabato — Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco has ordered the province’s department heads to continue their relief operations for more than 20,000 evacuees who lost their homes to a series of quakes that rocked Cotabato in October and December last year.

A total 5,676 evacuees are still staying in evacuation centers almost 60 days after the last quake.

Catamco ordered the social welfare and development office in the province and the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office to conti-nue the distribution of cash and food aid to the evacuees.Housing needs

She also ordered the distribution of housing materials such as nails and plywood for the evacuees’ temporary shelters.

The Army’s 52nd enginee¬ring brigade would also build houses for evacuees in Makilala town this month. Catamco said the Army would construct 75 units of temporary core shelter at Pacheco Rubber Farm at Barangay Luna Norte in Makilala to accommodate families from Barangay Bato, which had been declared a “no-build zone” by the local government.

The province had mo¬nitored 14,569 people whose homes were destroyed by the earthquakes.

Rebuilding schools

The Department of Environment and Natural Resour¬ces in the region, through the provincial environment and natural resources office, said it would donate 4,000 board feet of lumber to build temporary learning centers for schools whose classrooms had been damaged.

Severe damageThe series of earthquakes in October had caused severe damage to houses and livelihood in the towns of Makilala, M’lang, Tulunan, Arakan and Magpet and Kidapawan City.

Another quake, with an epicenter at Matanao town in Davao del Sur province in December, also increased the number of evacuees in Cotabato.—Orlando Dinoy