TROPICAL STORM Kristine has, at present, affected thousands of Filipinos, and has left several dead.
As per an official report from Police Regional Office 5, 21 have been found dead. Most of them passed due to drowning, landslides, and fallen trees, with many located in the Bicol region and the nearby Quezon province.
This death toll, however, is still expected to rise given that several towns and villages are currently dealing with flooding and road blocking caused by landslides and toppled trees in different provinces.
They further report that seven of these storm deaths were residents of Naga City, as inundated by flash floods caused by the storm.
PRO-5 chief Police Brigadier General Andre Dizon also said in an interview that five deaths occurred in Catanduanes, four in Albay, and one each in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and Masbate.
The report also states that nine have been found injured. Four individuals are also missing, with two from Masbate and one each from Camarines Sur and Albay.
In total, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reports that 431,738 families or 2,077,643 individuals have been affected by the storm. 43,463 families are currently staying in 4,567 evacuation centers, while 8,003 are staying outside of these facilities.
Several transportation infrastructures have also been heavily affected by the storm; in various regions, 256 roads and 40 bridges have since been labeled impassable.
Efforts to keep Filipinos safe
To offer aid to the Filipinos affected by the storm, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has dispatched thousands of officers and assets to provide disaster response and relief efforts, as per an interview from PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil.
On Wednesday afternoon, PNP spokesperson BGen. Jean Fajardo said that over 2,000 personnel nationwide have been deployed. There are also 10,000 that are currently on standby.
Police officers have since conducted rescue operations in different regions such as in Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Davao Region.
In total, the OCD reports that there are 28 squads, 1,409 teams, and 3,176 assets deployed by the AFP and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for search, rescue, and retrieval operations.
They are preparing to send out more help considering that the storm is only expected to worsen moving forward, as per the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also said on Wednesday that the government is working to rescue citizens affected by the flooding, particularly in the heavily affected Bicol region.
“We are now beginning to marshal our assets, like for example, rubber boats,” he told reporters.
“Hanggang Mindanao kukunin na muna namin at dadalhin namin dito sa area ng pangangailangan.”
He reassured citizens that government aid would come in by land as soon as the roads cleared, and that the Department of Public Works and Highway were constantly monitoring the situation and knew what they had to do.
He has also told the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to make full use of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) for disaster response in several places in the Philippines.
The OCD has reported that the AFP has 17 air assets in total that are prepositioned in Villamor and Cebu which are deployable as soon as the weather permits it.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr also explained that the Philippine government is coordinating with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia for additional manpower.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD) has been able to distribute an estimated PHP 146 million in relief goods to those heavily affected by the storm.
PHP 82.9 million or 114,568 food packs have been given to those in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, and Bacolod.
They have also given PHP 57-million worth of non-food items. This includes family kits, sleeping kits, hygiene kits, kitchen kits, as well as family and modular tents.
Albay has since declared a province-wide state of calamity, with their pre-emptive evacuations helping to relocate 1,625 families. The assistance provided to these families totals to PHP 21,516,422.45.
The DSWD and OCD have also put together PHP 3,043,474,714.48 in standby funds and prepositioned relief stockpile, with assistance costs amounting to PHP 46,940,142.26.
