Food packs readied in Cagayan Valley ahead of Typhoon Francisco

TUGUEGARAO CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Cagayan Valley has prepositioned 114,000 family food packs across local government units in preparation for the possible impact of Typhoon Francisco, which prompted the raising of Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 over Batanes and parts of Cagayan on Monday.

Mylene Attaban, chief of the Disaster Response Management Division of DSWD Region 2, said the agency has ensured that sufficient relief supplies are strategically positioned in areas likely to be affected by the typhoon.

READ: Signal No. 1 in 3 areas as Typhoon Francisco intensifies

In addition to the prepositioned food packs, the agency has 96,000 family food packs and household kits stored in regional warehouses.

Attaban said relief goods have already been deployed to vulnerable areas, including Batanes province, its island municipalities, and the remote island town of Calayan in Cagayan.

The DSWD has also set aside a standby fund of P3 million for emergency procurement of additional supplies should the need arise.

In Itbayat, Batanes, local authorities have raised a blue alert status as part of their preparedness measures. Social workers have prepared family food packs and non-food items such as hygiene kits, child-friendly kits, pails, and other emergency supplies for residents.

Harriette Antas, municipal budget officer of Itbayat, reported to the Batanes Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office that the town has sufficient disaster mitigation funds, supplemented by a fully funded Quick Response Fund equivalent to 200 percent of its required allocation.

Meanwhile, Kathleen Garcia, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer II of Itbayat, said emergency responders have been deployed to areas threatened by the approaching typhoon to ensure a swift response in case conditions worsen. /coa