23 December 2015

With the recent devastations brought by typhoon Nona in Eastern Visayas, President Benigno S. Aquino III personally inspected and oversaw the aftermath and development of the badly-stricken areas in the region such as Northern Samar that was declared under a state of calamity.

In a briefing to President Aquino by the local government of Catarman, at least 137,000 families were left displaced by Nona in Region VIII. Having been one of the most critically affected provinces, Northern Samar suffered great loss in terms of their livelihood. Out of the 600,000 affected residents, 839 were reported injured while 13 individuals were declared dead during the course of the typhoon. On the other hand, damage to the province’s agriculture and infrastructure soared to a total of 211 million and 2.09 billion pesos respectively.

As such, several immediate needs of those affected were mentioned during the presentation like shelter, health and financial assistance. With this, President Aquino assured that the government is making sure that concerned agencies are on full alert to cater to these needs thru the Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). DSWD has already distributed relief goods and commodities to the affected municipalities while the DOH deployed their workers to respond to the health concerns of the region.

On the latest situation after the typhoon, majority of the business establishments and life of the residents were back to normal. Although some areas still need further support, the administration, in cooperation with the local government of Northern Samar, is in full swing to attain full recovery of the whole region.

Typhoon Nona, with international name “Melor,” made its initial landfall over Laoang, Northern Samar on Monday, December 14. It brought a maximum sustained winds of 150kph and a gustiness that reached 185kph.

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