HOMELESS Residents of this fishing community in Surigao City put up makeshift tents and shelters to protect themselves from the rain after Typhoon “Odette” destroyed their houses. —ERWIN MASCARIÑAS
MANILA, Philippines — Around 597,000 houses were damaged by Typhoon Odette, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 2021, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development said Thursday.
“Sa nakuha nating datos, as of January 5 of 2022, ang total ng ating partially damaged ay 416,521. Ang totally damaged naman ay 181,258. For a total of 597,779 partially and totally damaged houses,” Human Settlements Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said during the Laging Handa briefing.
(Based on our data as of January 5, 2022, partially damaged houses stand at 416,521. The totally damaged houses, meanwhile, are at 181,258.)
The damages due to Odette were recorded in 10 regions namely Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Del Rosario also shared that the National Housing Authority has distributed P487 million to 97,500 families affected by Odette.
“Ang P487 million ay naibigay natin sa lahat ng lugar na nasalanta at ang nakatanggap nito ay 97,500 families. Ito ay immediate cash assistance na ni-release ng National Housing Authority sunod sa utos ng ating mahal na Pangulo [Rodrigo Duterte],” he said.
(The P487 million was distributed to areas ravaged by the typhoon and 97,500 families received it. This is the immediate cash assistance released by the National Housing Authority pursuant to the president’s order.)
The government, in coordination with the United States Agency for International Development and the International Organization for Migration, has also provided tarpaulin sheets, modular tents, and solar lamps, among others to provide temporary shelter for displaced survivors.