Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Monday assured that enough funds and relief supplies are in place for the victims of typhoon “Santi.”

Secretary Esperanza Cabral said P82.15 million in funds and P117.75 million worth of relief supplies were prepositioned in the DSWD Field Offices I, II, III, IV-A, IV-B, V, and VIII, as well as in the DSWD-National Resource Operations Center (NROC).

A relief caravan was initiated by DSWD last week to preposition 140 truckloads of relief goods consisting of food packs, potable water, clothing packs and medical kits were transported to Northern and Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, and the Bicol Region.

Cabral said that for the relief caravan alone, the DSWD provided assorted relief supplies consisting of family food packs, mineral water, blankets, noodles and medicines worth almost P4 million.“We are currently consolidating the reports of other national government agencies and international and private organizations which participated in the caravan,” Cabral said.

“We shall then provide a complete report on the relief goods prepositioned for Typhoon Santi that are now being put to good use in providing for victims of the typhoon,” she added.

The DSWD chief directed the DSWD quick response teams (QRTs) in regions affected by typhoon “Santi” to monitor the extent of damage brought about by the weather disturbance and to assist affected local government units in disaster operations.

Initial reports gathered by Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center based at the DSWD Central Office as of Nov. 2, showed that 16,875 families with 82,494 persons have been affected by the recent typhoon.

Of the reported affected families, 34 families with 169 persons came from six barangays in Daraga, Albay, while 1,767 families with 9,271 persons came from 40 barangays in Camarines Norte.

“The figures are only initial and the final assessment on the number of families affected and damages will be provided after consolidation of the reports from our Field Offices in the affected areas,” she said.

DSWD said 71 evacuation centers were setup in the affected areas providing temporary shelter to 2,750 families with 12,888 persons. Some 3,507 passengers were also stranded in the ports of Tabaco, Matnog, Bulan, Pio Duran, Pilar, and Pasacao in the Bicol Region.