TROPICAL DEPRESSION USMAN IN BICOL REGION, PHILIPPINES
Situation Report No. 2
10 January 2019
Situation Overview
- Dec. 27-28, 2018 – Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal (TCWS) No. 1 was declared in six (6) provinces: Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes and Masbate.
- December 29, 6:00am – Tropical Depression “Usman” made its landfall over Borongan, Eastern Samar, dumping large volumes of rainfall in parts of Luzon and Visayas. In Bicol, heavy rainfalls were visible in six provinces.
- Rainfall in two days equivalent to one month caused massive flooding and landslides in the Bicol region. Provinces of Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte were put under state of calamity.
- January 3, 2019 – Bicol Philippine National Police (PNP) reported 105 deaths, more than half of which were from Camarines Sur, where heavy rains triggered landslides.[i] Numbers are expected to climb up since retrieval operations are still going on.
- January 4, 2019 – Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol reported initial losses were pegged at P596.3 million (16,331.93 metric tons production loss) affecting at least 28,714 farmers and 30,900.07 hectares of farmlands.[ii]
- January 8 – A total of 80,057 families with 373,939 individuals from 485 barangays in the region were affected. There are still 29,203 families with 136,663 persons being served inside and outside evacuation centers. Number of evacuees continue to rise due to occurrence of landslides such as in the municipality of Sagñay in Camarines Sur.[iii]
- Affected families complain of inadequate food and hygiene supplies.
- Domestic water supply is limited and affected families with small water containers are not able to store enough water.
- Evacuees, especially children, need medical and psychosocial services. Most evacuees suffer from fever, coughs, colds, and leptospirosis.
- Overcrowding in evacuation centers are common and most evacuated families do not have sleeping mats. Some evacuation centers lack sanitary kitchen facility, bathrooms and toilets.
- Lack of kitchen facilities and utensils was also noted since their belongings were washed out during flooding and landslides. Loss of clothing was also noted.
- No income source for families who are into fishing and farming to address non-food needs like transportation, educational needs of the students and household supplies.
Tarabang Para Sa Bicol, Inc. (TABI) Response
TABI staff and volunteers continuously monitor and assess damages, needs, and capacities in the affected areas with local implementing partner BMDR and Bicol-based member people’s organizations.
To address immediate food needs, TABI conducted Mobile Hot Meals Delivery in the following affected barangays:
Hot meals delivery in Brgy. Joroan, Tiwi, Albay
A total of 350 families in Brgy. Mabolo, Naga City also received assistance from the Asia-Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) Bicol on Jan. 6, 2019. Each beneficiary received a hygiene pack.
Hygiene kits distribution in Brgy. Mabolo, Naga City
Based on further assessment of TABI, the following needs in the selected affected barangays are identified as follow:
TABI is continuously calling for support and donations.
References:
1. Office of Civil Defense V Situational Report on TD Usman
2. MDRRMO Situational Reports on TD Usman
3. TABI-BMDR rapid assessment results
[i] https://www.rappler.com/nation/220193-tropical-depression-usman-death-toll-january-3-2019
[ii] https://www.rappler.com/business/220322-department-agriculture-soft-loans-aid-bicol-farmers-affected-tropical-depression-usman
[iii] http://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/3540/SitRep_No_20_re_Preparedness_Measures_and_Effects_of_Tropical_Depression_USMAN_as_of_6AM_08_January_2019.pdf