DSWD prepares for typhoon season

MANILA, Philippines — Up to three million boxes of family food packs have been prepositioned in 938 warehouses nationwide in preparation for typhoons and bad weather now that the rainy season has started, according to the Department Social Welfare and Development.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian yesterday said he directed the agency’s disaster response management group to ensure that family food packs, particularly in regions that are prone to storms and flooding, are constantly replenished.

“As part of the implementation of the ‘Buong Bansa Handa’ program, the DSWD prepositioned three million boxes of family food packs for speedy and efficient disaster response operations,” Gatchalian said.

The DSWD’s disaster preparedness under the “Buong Bansa Handa” is based on a directive of President Marcos to ensure fail-safe mechanisms in the country’s supply chain during times of calamities.

The program is a whole-of-nation approach that enables the government to respond more swiftly and comprehensively to natural calamities while at the same time safeguarding the well-being of affected families.

LPA spotted off Mindanao

As this developed, a low-pressure area (LPA) has been spotted northeast of Mindanao and is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility within the next 24 to 48 hours.

State meteorologists said the trough of the LPA is expected to bring cloudy skies, scattered rains and thunderstorms over Eastern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte. 

The LPA may not intensify into a tropical cyclone, but it will enhance the southwest monsoon as it moves toward the eastern coast of the country. 

“The enhanced monsoon will bring heavy rain over the western sections of the Visayas and Luzon, while the LPA will dump heavy rain over Eastern Visayas and Bicol region during the weekend,” state meteorologists said.