DSWD: 80,000 food packs prepositioned in Negros after Kanlaon eruption
GRAY SKIES. Volcanic plumes are released into the atmosphere during the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on Negros Island at 3:03 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. — Screengrab from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology’s video.
MANILA, Philippines — Around 80,000 food packs and over 16,000 non-food items have been prepositioned in Negros Island after the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Tuesday.
According to DSWD Asec. Irene Dumlao, 40,000 family food packs and more than 14,000 non-food items were prepositioned in Negros Occidental, while close to 40,000 family food packs and 1,800 non-food items were prepositioned in Negros Oriental.
“We already have some released to the affected populations, particularly those families in the evacuation centers,” Dumlao said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.
Dumlao added that water filtration kits were also distributed in evacuation centers on Tuesday morning, and DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian oversaw the distribution.
She also assured the public that the DSWD is in close coordination with local governments in Negros Island to assess if more assistance should be provided.
Article continues after this advertisementThe DSWD offers financial assistance and cash relief assistance to victims of Kanlaon’s eruption through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.
Article continues after this advertisementThe department also provides an emergency cash transfer program, which helps those needing unconditional cash transfers recover.
“But the provision of that, of course, will be based on the result of the rapid damage assessment and needs analysis where we can determine from that report what are the additional interventions that we should deliver to our countrymen who were affected,” Dumlao explained.
Dumlao said 14 barangays are currently affected by Kanlaon’s eruption, with 2,000 families, or 6,500 individuals, staying in 13 evacuation centers in Bago City, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, and Pontevedra in Negros Occidental.
Meanwhile, close to 2,000 families, or more than 6,400 individuals, are staying in an evacuation center in Kanlaon City.
Kanlaon Volcano erupted on Monday, prompting state volcanologists to raise the alert level to 3, which indicates magmatic unrest.
The eruption produced a voluminous plume that rapidly rose to 3,000 meters above the vent and drifted west-southwest.
