Just in time for New Year’s Eve, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) intensified its relief operations in areas devastated by Typhoon Ursula in the Visayas and Mimaropa.
PRC staff and volunteers distributed Media Noche packages to typhoon-hit communities in Basey, Western Samar, Buruanga, Aklan and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.
“We want to make sure that no one is left behind. Let us start 2020 by sharing our blessings and be the image of hope for the people,” PRC Chairman and Sen. Richard J. Gordon said.
PRC provided Media Noche packages to 1,886 families in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro (300 families), San Jose, Rizal and Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro (883 families), Buruanga, Aklan (473 families) and Basey, Western Samar (230 families).
The package includes spaghetti pasta with sauce, cheese, two cans of corned beef, fruit cocktail, condensed milk and all-purpose cream.
Red Cross chapters also distributed food packs to 1,134 families in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro (630 families), Magsaysay and Rizal, Occidental Mindoro (504 families).
Red Cross chapters also set up seven Welfare Desks in Cebu, Ormoc, Surigao del Norte, Masbate and Romblon, while eight First Aid Stations were established in evacuation centers and ports in Ormoc, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Iloilo, Surigao del Sur and Romblon to assist stranded passengers.
As part of an emergency response to meet the nutritional needs of people affected by disasters, PRC staff and volunteers distributed ready to eat meal/hotmeals to 3,465 individuals in Cebu, Iloilo, Masbate, Passi, Romblon, Batangas, Capiz and Leyte.
Since December 24, 2019, PRC activated 294 personnel including staff and volunteers to respond, assess and report damages to houses and other infrastructure, as well as flooded areas, such as in the town of Paranas in Western Samar, Roxas City and Municipality of President Roxas in Capiz.
PRC-National Headquarters Office and its chapters in Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Southern Luzon are monitoring the situation on the ground and response for Typhoon Ursula.