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The Star
an hour ago
- Climate
- The Star
Thousands reel from wide Severe Tropical Storm Crising impact in Philippines
MANILA: Expect heavy rains to persist in parts of the country until Tuesday next week due to the combined effects of Severe Tropical Storm Crising (international name: Wipha) and the southwest monsoon ('habagat'), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Saturday (July 19). Crising has left a trail of destruction with four individuals reported missing, at least three injured, and more than 100,000 others affected, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported. In its latest situational report posted on Saturday evening, the NDRRMC said the four missing persons were from Western Visayas, while the three injured were from Soccsksargen. Landslides and flooded roads were reported across the country with several areas in Western Visayas pushing for the declaration of a state of calamity. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released more than P4.1 million worth of humanitarian assistance to the affected families. PAR exit DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said this was only part of the government's initial aid consisting of family food packs and nonfood items. Crising intensified into a severe tropical storm and exited the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Saturday morning, but Pagasa said the cyclone could still affect the country and influence the southwest monsoon. On Saturday afternoon, the weather bureau raised the orange rainfall warning over Metro Manila. In its 5pm bulletin, Pagasa said Crising has maintained its strength while moving away from the country's landmass. The center of the storm was last spotted 345 kilometers west of Itbayat, Batanes, outside PAR. Rains induced by Crising flood the streets and displace thousands in Metro Manila on Saturday. In Quezon City, Banawe Street goes underwater while an evacuation center takes in families at Amoranto Stadium. - Photo: Grig C. Montegrande, Robert Jaworski Abaño Thousands displaced It was forecast to 'continue to intensify and may reach typhoon category prior to close approach to Hong Kong.' The NDRRMC said Crising affected a total of 105,313 individuals, or 39,931 families in 546 barangays; around 14,935 individuals were staying in evacuation centers, while over 7,410 others sought shelter elsewhere. The agency also reported 34 roads and four bridges rendered impassable across the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, and Cordillera Administrative Region. Meanwhile, 41 roads and three bridges were also affected but not entirely impassable. Incidents of flooding, fallen trees, landslides, and destructive winds were also recorded in affected areas spanning across the Ilocos region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, Caraga, the National Capital Region, and the Negros Island Region. Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said localities in the fifth and sixth districts in the province's southern part were the worst-hit areas. Mayor Benjie Miranda of Kabankalan City said he was recommending the declaration of a state of calamity for his city to enable the local government to release crucial funds to aid affected residents. Binalbagan town was also set to declare a state of calamity. Workers dismantle a toppled electrical post in Quezon city, Philippines due to torrential winds and rain as Tropical Storm Wipha, locally called Crising, exits the northern portion of country on Saturday, July 19, 2025. - Photo: AP Stranded travellers In Quezon City, the northbound lane of Katipunan Avenue near the Ateneo de Manila University was closed to motorists after a utility pole fell onto several cars around 11.20am, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said in a social media post. A billboard, meanwhile, fell onto two cars on the southbound lane of Katipunan Avenue also near Ateneo. Crising also left hundreds of travelers stranded in ports across the country. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that 1,280 passengers, truck drivers, and cargo helpers were stranded in 42 ports as of Saturday morning. 'We only found out that all sea travel was canceled when we went to the port before noon yesterday. The ticketing office was closed, and there were no officials assisting anyone, so we had to figure everything out on our own,' Ella Laguna, one of the stranded passengers in the Siquijor port, told the Inquirer. Landslides The Philippine Ports Authority suspended trips in affected areas following the PCG's implementation of a no-sail policy during inclement weather. In La Union, 209 families, or 692 individuals, from 17 villages were displaced, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported. It also recorded 14 weather-related incidents in the towns of Bacnotan, Bauang, Bagulin, Caba, Santo Tomas, and San Fernando City. These incidents included minor landslides, falling trees, and flooded areas, but no casualties were reported. In the Cordillera, three key arteries traversing Calanasan town in Apayao province were shut down by landslides and by high river water, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways. Soil collapse has cut access through three sections of the Claveria-Calanasan-Kabugao road along barangays Eva, Namaltugan and Ninoy in Calanasan. At the Apayao-Ilocos Norte Road, erosions and a 'washed out detour road' at an ongoing construction of the Annaran Bridge that crosses Madalagundug River also in Calanasan were being cleared as of noontime. In Baguio City, Kennon Road remained closed on Saturday because of intermittent rock slides, while parts of the summer capital experienced power supply cuts triggered by fallen trees. In Benguet province, rescue workers were dealing with a road slip along the Governor Bado Dangwa National Road traversing Kapangan town. Ipo, Angat dams In Bulacan, officials alerted residents living in low-lying areas of possible surges of their rivers after the Ipo dam on Saturday breached its spilling level and started to discharge waters. Manuel Kukban Jr., head of the Bulacan PDRRMO, said that at 3pm, Ipo Dam started to release 103.25 cubic meter per second of volume of water after it's elevation reached 101.56 meters, breaching its 101-meter spilling level. The PDRRMO has earlier issued an alert for river surges in Baliwag and the municipalities of Norzagaray, Angat, Bustos, San Rafael, Plaridel, Pulilan, Calumpit, Hagonoy and Paombong. Angat Dam's level also rose due to the heavy downpour from 191.88 meters above sea level on Friday to 192.10 masl on Saturday. However, it was still 22 meters below the 214.00 masl high water elevation. In Baguio City, a massive boulder broke loose from a mountainside and rolled down onto a house and a parked car along Kennon Road in Barangay Camp 7, authorities said. According to the Baguio City Public Information Office, citing reports from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the boulder crushed the house and vehicle but no occupants were hurt as they had evacuated earlier. But emergency responders said a pet dog, an exotic bully breed, was killed when the boulder hit the residence. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
GMA Network
14 hours ago
- Climate
- GMA Network
DSWD: At least 4M worth of assistance given to families affected by Crising, Habagat
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Saturday said at least P4.1 million worth of humanitarian aid was given to families affected by Severe Tropical Storm Crising and the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat). At a news forum in Quezon City, DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said that as of 6 a.m. Saturday, more than 68,000 families or 215,000 individuals in Regions 1 (Ilocos Region), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), MIMAROPA, 5 (Bicol Region), 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas), and 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) had been affected by the storm, with around 5,400 families staying in evacuation centers. Dumlao said that the DSWD has more than P2.9 billion in standby funds and stockpiles, composed of Quick Response Funds (QRF) and approximately 3 million family food packs prepositioned strategically across the country. 'Patuloy pa rin po 'yung production ng ating mga FFPs (family food packs) sa National Resource Operations Center (NROC) at sa Visayas Disaster Response Center (VDRC). Kung kaya nga po kung kinakailangan mag-replenish tayo ng mga stockpiles natin sa ating mga regional warehouses and in the last miles, agad po natin magagawa 'yan sapagkat tuloy-tuloy 'yung ating production sa ating mga major hubs,' she said. (Our production of FFPs continues at the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) and the Visayas Disaster Response Center (VDRC). If we need to replenish our stockpiles in our regional warehouses and in the last miles, we can immediately do it because our production in our major hubs is ongoing. The DSWD official said that their Buong Bansa Handa program enabled rapid augmentation of resources through agreements with local government units and private organizations to use their warehouses for relief prepositioning. She added that with the mechanized packing system in DSWD's National Resource Operations Center in Pasay and Visayas Disaster Resource Center in Cebu, the production of FFPs increased from 5,000–10,000 manually packed boxes to 50,000 daily combined output. Each box of FFP has a barcode with a manufacturing date, expiry date, and designated area of destination, which prevents spoilage and ensures proper tracking, the DSWD said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
12-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
DSWD to register 750K 'food poor' families for Walang Gutom Program in 2026
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is targeting to register a total of 750,000 food-poor families for the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) by next year. "Right now, we're currently serving 300,000 households, and then before the end of the year, we're planning to add an additional 300,000, and then by next year, 150,000," said DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao in a Dobol B TV interview on Saturday. "Kinakailangan po natin mag-register ng karagdagan sa taon po na ito," Dumlao added. (We need to register more this year.) Dumlao said the 750,000 households were based on the list from DSWD and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Currently, the Walang Gutom Program (WGP), which highlights the P20 per kilo rice, is implemented only in Metro Manila, Cebu, and the CARAGA region, Dumlao said. Poor families in the BARMM are also set to be given priority, the DSWD spokesperson said. "Actually, bibigyan din sila ng prayoridad, Isinaayos lang 'yung specific areas, tapos 'yung number, and then tinignan din sino-sino 'yung accredited merchants. And then based naman po doon sa ating pakikipag-usap sa DA, bibilisan po na 'yung pag-supply doon sa bigas, doon sa ating mga merchants para ma-implement na po natin," she said. (Actually, they will be given priority, specific areas are being arranged, their number, and the accredited merchants. Based on our discussions with the DA, we will speed up the supply of rice to our merchants so that we can implement it.) Beneficiaries of the program may avail themselves of the P20 per kilo rice using their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, which is similar to a debit card loaded with P3,000 every month. —Jamil Santos/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
06-07-2025
- Climate
- GMA Network
P3B in aid ready for 2025 calamities — DSWD
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Sunday that it has P3 billion in standby funds and a prepositioned relief stockpile ready for calamities nationwide this year. 'Ito po ay magagamit natin para tutugon sa mga request ng iba't-ibang local government units (LGUs) na naapektuhan (this will be used to respond to the different requests of calamity-affected LGUs),' DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao told Super Radyo dzBB. She added that over three million family food packs are prepositioned in DSWD warehouses across the country, as well as in local government units (LGUs) and private organizations' warehouses. In a separate dzBB interview, the Office of Civil Defense reported over 3,700 families from the Ilocos Region (Region I), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and Cagayan Valley (Region II) have been affected so far by Bising (international name: Danas). Dumlao said DSWD has provided aid to the affected residents, particularly in Benguet and Ilocos Sur. On Friday, Bising exited the PAR. It developed into a severe tropical storm on Saturday night and reached typhoon category on Sunday. PAGASA said Danas may re-enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by this evening or early Monday morning. At 11 p.m., Danas was observed 385 kilometers west northwest of Itbayat, Batanes, with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 150 km/h, and heading north northwestward at 10 km/h. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
01-07-2025
- Climate
- GMA Network
Food packs for stranded passengers eyed in new DSWD, PPA deal
The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Philippine Ports Authority signed an agreement aiming to provide ready-to-eat food packs to passengers who will be stranded in major and critical ports in the country during times of calamities. 'Ito ay upang matiyak na yung mga kababayan natin na hindi po makapaglayag ay mabibigyan ng immediate relief assistance. Itong mga ready-to-eat food packs natin ay ipe-preposition sa mga major and critical ports nang sa gayon yung mga pangangailangan sa pagkain ay matutugunan natin kapag may mga bagyo o disasters,' said DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao in an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon. (This is to ensure that those who are unable to sail will be given immediate relief assistance. These ready-to-eat food packs will be prepositioned at major and critical ports so that we can instantly provide food in the event of typhoons or disasters.) The DSWD official said the food packs will be provided to stranded passengers in at least 25 ports nationwide, including the North Harbor in Manila. 'Ang istratehiya na ito ay isinagawa natin ay dahil kung matatandaan, last year sunod-sunod ang mga bagyo na naka-apekto sa ating bansa,' said Dumlao. (We implemented this strategy because, if you recall, last year, our country was hit by a series of typhoons.) Among the contents of the food pack are champorado, arroz caldo, tuna paella, chicken pastil, ground chicken, protein-rich biscuits, and complementary food for toddlers and breastfeeding moms. 'Hindi na kinakailangan na ipainit, hindi kinakailangan ng mainit na tubig. Pupunitin mo lang yung packs or i-open mo lang tin cans, you can consume it already,' said Dumlao, adding that utensils are also included in the pack. (No need to heat it or use hot water. Just tear the packs or open the tin cans, and you can consume it already.) The ready-to-eat foods in the pack were developed by the Department of Science and Technology's Food and Nutrition Research Institute, the DSWD added. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
