MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon Lawin (Haima) slammed Northern Luzon on Wednesday, October 19, bringing strong winds and heavy rains to the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Kalinga, Apayao, Mt. Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and several other provinces. (What's the latest #WeatherAlert?)
Initial reports from the field indicate damaged infrastructure, agriculture, and disrupted lives. Evacuation centers in Tuguegarao City were reportedly damaged due to the strong winds, exposing many evacuees to the weather overnight.
Roadways are flooded and some sections of the national highway are impassable due to fallen trees and other obstructions.
As typhoon Lawin makes its way out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the most difficult phase of the disaster begins: response and recovery.
People need your help and support. Donations of food, water, clothing, medicine, and hygiene kits are always needed. Some evacuation centers may need more of certain resources than others. So it's important to be aware of what help is needed and how best you can provide assistance.
Rappler's civic engagement arm, MovePH, is helping the government, civil society, and the private sector crowdsource information on what's needed and where relief is needed most. This information will be mapped on the Agos Alert Map and published on Rappler X.
If you have an ongoing relief operation, please post your operation and your call for donations on Rappler X. Rappler will share your post on social media.
If you are in need of any relief, you can Tweet or post on Facebook with the hashtag #ReliefPH. Agos volunteers are monitoring this hashtag and will connect you with organizations who can help.
If you would like to donate relief goods, please read this information below:
Donors in Metro Manila can give their donations to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at the following offices:
- National Resource Operations Center (NROC)
Chapel Road, Pasay City
Telephone number: (02) 852-8081
- DSWD-NCR
389 San Rafael St cor Legarda St, Manila
Telephone number: (02) 733-0010 to 14
Response teams are ready to accept donations.
Outside Metro Manila, the public can bring their donations to the nearest DSWD field office in their area or to their local government units (LGUs).
Don't hesitate to ask for DSWD's help
"They (the public) can directly go to any evacuation center in their locality and distribute their donations. The social workers in the evacuation centers can assist them. They may give clothes, medicines, hygiene kits, food, or hot meals," DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said.
"Kailangan po namin talaga ang tulong ng bawat isa sa atin para mapalawig pa natin ang tulong para sa mga kababayan nating biktima ng mga kalamidad. Makakakaasa kayo na ang mga donasyon ninyo ay maipaparating sa kanila," Taguiwalo said.
(We need the help of everyone to further expand our assistance for our fellow countrymen who are affected by disasters. We assure you that your donations will reach the rightful beneficiaries.)
She reiterated that affected families should not wait for social workers to reach out to them. They can approach the DSWD field office nearest them or their LGUs.
"Huwag po tayong mag-atubiling lumapit para humingi ng tulong kung tayo ay biktima. Sa dami po minsan ng mga apektadong tao ay may nakakaligtaan ang ating gobyerno."
(Do not hesitate to ask for help. Often, due to the large number of victims, there are some families who may not be reached immediately.)
Agos Alert Map
Those who need relief goods can alert Rappler's Agos disaster information management platform via Twitter – tag @MovePH or tweet with #ReliefPH. The public can also send an SMS, text 2929 for Smart and Sun subscribers, or directly post on the Agos map.
Agos is a collaborative platform that combines top-down government action with bottom-up civic engagement to help communities mitigate risks and deal with climate change and natural hazards. – Rappler.com
