ZAMBOANGA CITY - The municipal government of Jolo in Sulu province on Thursday declared a state of calamity due to the effects of a storm surge that struck five villages, leaving hundreds of families homeless.
Sulu Mayor Hussin Amin said the declaration was made after the town's Sangguniang council approved a resolution for the immediate release of a calamity fund for relief operations for at least 15,000 residents displaced by the disaster spawned by the low pressure area (LPA) over Northeastern Mindanao.
Big waves battered and brought serious damage to the coastal villages since Saturday. Amin said his own house was damaged by the storm surge.
Amin said the the five worst-hit barangays include Chinese Pier, Takut-Takut, Tulay, Walled City, and Bus-Bus where municipal engineering personnel estimated the damage to reach P17 million.
The storm surge also badly damaged the Jolo wharf and the newly constructed 100 units of stilt housing projects for the Badjaos of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
ARMM regional Governor Mujiv Hataman has extended the emergency and relief assistance to the affected families.
Hataman also directed the assessment of damage on the affected areas to determine the needed assistance that the regional office could extend.