Two institutions, the Philippine Red Cross and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, are coming to the aid of typhoon-ravaged provinces in Northern Luzon.
PRC chairman Richard Gordon on Monday said the Red Cross’s water search and rescue (Wasar) teams have rescued 78 people in Nueva Ecija which was flooded because of typhoon “Lando.” As of Monday, 53 individuals were rescued from flooded homes in Sumacab, Cabanatuan City and 25 people in San Jose, Sta. Rosa.
“We immediately sent rescue teams bound for Nueva Ecija as soon as we received reports of flooding and pleas for rescue from people stranded in their homes and other areas. We have deployed nine Wasar teams from NHQ, Tarlac, Bulacan, and Olongapo, three 6X6 trucks and two Humvees,” said Gordon.
Wasar team members said that flooding in Nueva Ecija reached chest-deep and up to the second floor of houses in some areas. Several roads are impassable in the province, which include Daang Maharlika due to toppled tree, Rizal-Pantabangan, Langka in Cabanatuan City, San Miguel, and San Antonio.
Five people were also rescued by PRC teams from a van that was trapped in flood waters the night of Oct. 18, in San Jose-Sta.Rosa road in Nueva Ecija.
So far, PRC has provided hot meals to 2,902 individuals in Aurora (1,172), Kalinga (310), and Isabela (745). The social welfare team also provided psychosocial support to 100 people in Aurora and welfare support for 15 people. The Pangasinan chapter has also distributed blankets and plastic mats for affected families.
PRC OpCen said that as of 8 a.m on Oct. 19, there are now 19 provinces affected by Typhoon Lando, 39 municipalities/cities, 98 barangays, and 6,140 families or 18,769 individuals.
“I would like to commend the teams and Red Cross volunteers who all worked 24/7 over the weekend to save lives for PRC’s typhoon Lando operations. We could have done more if we had more Red Cross 143 volunteers to help us. I am appealing to all 143 volunteers to report by text or email the situation on the ground,” said Gordon.
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office , for its part, vowed to provide hospitalization assistance in areas hit by the storm.
PCSO Vice-Chairman and General Manager Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II said that the charity agency will shoulder the bills of those confined or treated in public hospitals as a direct result of the effects of Lando.
“PCSO’s Branch Operations and Charity sectors,” added Rojas, “particularly the Northern and Central Luzon departments, are closely monitoring the situation in Aurora province and other vulnerable areas.”
Rojas said that the present PCSO Board of Directors made it a policy of the agency to subsidize the bills of patients directly affected by national emergencies and calamities who are being treated at government hospitals and healthcare facilities.
The policy is applied during occasions of natural disasters and national emergencies; in the past these included typhoons Yolanda, Glenda, Milenyo, Sendong, Habagat, the conflict in Zamboanga, landslide in Compostela Valley, and many other incidents.
PCSO is coordinating with other government agencies the other ways that the agency can contribute to relief efforts in the stricken areas.