COTABATO CITY — Ongoing relief operations in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is targeting to serve soonest all 45, 380 families or 226,900 individuals affected by the recent onlsaught of tropical storm Vinta in the region.
The ARMM comprises the cities of Marawi and Lamitan; and the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi.
Among the ARMM provinces, the storm severely hit Lanao del Sur, displacing 24,202 families affected by floods and landslides with 29 deaths; 16 persons missing; and 33 others injured.
On Dec. 27, the ARMM’s Humanitarian and Emergency Action Response Team served a total of 1,442 families in the municipalities of Balindong and Tugaya, the hardest hit towns in Lanao del Sur.
ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman led the distribution of the relief goods in Balindong consisting of rice, corned beef, sardines, and 3-in-1 instant coffee.
Also, a total of 893 affected families in Bacolod Kalawi and 605 affected families in Madalum received relief goods from the ARMM.
Moreover, the regional government extended cash assistance to families who lost members in the calamity.
On Dec. 21, the Lanao del Sur provincial government placed its entire area under a state of calamity after torrential rains inundated 19 of its 39 towns. In the province of Maguindanao, 21,178 families were affected in five towns. No deaths, however, were reported but two persons remain missing.
In Sulu and Basilan, 90 families and 443 families, respectively, were affected with no reported deaths.
Health officials in Tawi-tawi, meanwhile, reported they have treated 74 fishermen who were caught during the Dec. 22 – 24 onslaught of the storm on the borders of Tawi-tawi and southern Palawan in the Sulu Sea.
The Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi District Hospital admitted 41 of the fishermen for severe exhaustion and dehydration. (Noel Punzalan/PNA)
