Typhoon-hit Batanes seeks more aid 

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Friday said 14,000 boxes of relief goods are on their way to Batanes to help families affected by Supertyphoon “Leon” (international name: Kong-rey).

This latest batch of family food packs (FFPs), said Chief Administrative Officer Irish Yaranon of DSWD’s National Resource and Logistic Management Bureau, would be in addition to the initial 5,500 boxes earlier transported by the Philippine Coast Guard to Batanes.

Yangon noted that DSWD is considering “all possible entry ports and mode of transportation” to send the FFPs to the island province.

Batanes Gov. Marilou Cayco has already asked the national government for more aid, specifically three Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 flights, from Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Executive Director Raymundo Ferrer, to bring more FFPs to the affected residents.

A total of 7,484 families, or 21,391 individuals, were affected by the torrential rains and heavy winds brought by Leon over Batanes, as of Friday.

Damage to schools

Meanwhile, the Department of Education reported that the cost of damage to schools due to Leon was pegged at P222.5 million as of Friday. This includes P160 million for reconstruction and P62.5 million for major repairs.

Leon caused the suspension of 10,947 public schools in six regions, affecting more than 3.9 million learners, the agency said. At least 64 schools were reported to have “totally damaged” classrooms, while 125 schools had “partially damaged” classrooms.

Diana Rose Cajipe, undersecretary for the DSWD, reported that 2,000 FFPs were already available in Batanes.

In an advisory, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Cagayan Valley said the supplies were transported using a PAF C-295 aircraft to ensure these would reach the affected communities.

On Friday, a team organized by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Cagayan Valley flew to Batanes for a rapid damage assessment of typhoon-hit areas.

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Led by Leon Rafael, regional director of the OCD, the team includes representatives from the DSWD, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, the National Housing Authority, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Health and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

The group traveled aboard a PAF Black Hawk to expedite the assessment and support recovery efforts in the province.

Power has also been restored in several communities, including the villages of Salagao, Ivana and Kayvaluganan in the town of Basco.

At the height of Leon, at least 547 families in the province were evacuated as the typhoon brought intense rain, fierce winds and storm surges that uprooted trees, triggered landslides, blocked roads and damaged structures to this northernmost province.