The city government of Davao, through the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and concerned barangays assisted families affected by the flooding incident on June 30 and July 1.
Recently, the city has been experiencing heavy rainfall that caused flooding in some areas, including Barangay Calinan Poblacion, Barangay Talomo Proper, and Barangay Bago Aplaya.
A total of 33 families with around 111 individuals were affected by the flooding on June 30. The CSWDO provided welfare goods such as food packs and conducted community cooking in Calinan for the flood-affected families, while the barangay provided lomi and distributed welfare goods from the office of Cong. Paolo Duterte in Barangay Talomo Proper and Bago Aplaya.
All families affected by the flooding returned to their homes once the flood subsided at around midnight. The 17 families who evacuated due to flooding in Barangays Talomo Proper and Bago Aplaya on July 1 also returned home.
Ms. Julie Dayaday, Officer-in-Charge of the CSWDO, said in an interview with the City Information Office that during flooding incidents they make sure that the victims are being catered to with the services they need including the provision of food assistance.
Dayaday also said that usually, the barangays are the first responders during these incidents. They conduct an initial assessment and provide immediate assistance to the victims.
“Ang assistance nato ana, of course,e i-facilitate nato. Sa ginaingon na nako nga it’s the barangay who will do the first response. So i-provide gyud nila ang panginahanglan didto, and the CSWDO mag-master listing, profile, master list lang na siya, and kung early gyud ang evacuation that’s the time magprovide ta og food for community cooking or hot meal ba nila [We facilitate the provision of assistance. Like I said, it’s the barangay that does the first response. They ensure to provide for the needs of the evacuees, while the CSWDO will conduct master listing and, profiling, of the evacuees. If the evacuation took place at an earlier time, we provide food for community cooking or hot meals],” she said.
Dayaday added that depending on the number of evacuees, they either conduct community cooking or send in their mobile kitchen.
The CSWDO continues to urge Dabawenyos to avoid constructing their homes in danger zones, and to follow the city’s ordinances, especially the one on preemptive evacuation. CIO
