DSWD: Quezon, Laguna among areas needing help most after Glenda

Quezon and Laguna are among the areas needing help the most after Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun) battered Luzon this week, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said Thursday.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said they are also verifying the needs of residents affected by Glenda in parts of Central Luzon, including Zambales and Bataan.

"Sa ngayon nakikita namin sa Calabarzon area, particular [na ang] Quezon at Laguna, ang isang nangangailangan," Soliman said in an interview on GMA News TV's "News to Go."

She said their information showed many houses in the two areas were destroyed or damaged in the wake of heavy rain and strong winds from Glenda.

Also, she said they are trying to get to areas in the Bondoc Peninsula.

Eastern Visayas

Meanwhile, Soliman said the five evacuation centers in Tacloban City have been closed, with no one staying at the Tacloban City Astrodome.

The DSWD also said evacuation centers in Sta. Rita and Paranas in Samar and Rosario in Norther Samar were closed.

Also, the DSWD said its Eastern Visayas office provided tarpaulins and blankets to Glenda survivors in Northern and Western Samar.

"Ang aming hamon, bilisan ang pagtatayo ng transitional shelter," she said, adding five bunkhouses had been built between January and February.

Continuous relief

The DSWD said its field offices have standby funds amounting to P57,463,712.11.

It said there is continuous repacking of food packs in all affected regions.

It said evacuees in Rosario, Northern Samar already returned to their houses. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News