World Vision sends assessment team to flood-affected areas in Pangasinan

A day after Typhoon Josie left the country on July 23, World Vision team was immediately deployed in the province of Pangasinan to assess the situation of families and children.

Many of the areas in Pangasinan are still flooded even after Typhoon Josie left.  “The flood was sudden,” Emily, 34, said. Emily lives in the municipality of Bugallon where her house is still flooded until now. She continued, “This year’s flood is much higher by almost a foot.”

The Philippines has been experiencing torrential rains brought about by southwest monsoon for more than two weeks which worsened after three consecutive typhoons Henry, Inday, and Josie entered the country.

The continuous rainy days flooded more than 700 communities in the country forcing local government officials in 20 areas to declare the state of calamity. The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) in its July 28 report shows that the number of affected persons has reached more than 1.6 million in Luzon and Visayas. In Pangasinan, the NDRRMC recorded around 700,000 affected individuals.

Schools, village halls, and gymnasium were turned into evacuation centers. Local government units immediately provided affected families with their urgent needs such as food and hygiene kits.

Farmlands and fish ponds were also flooded. Farmers who just planted rice stalks are concerned. “That’s our major problem. Where or how are we going to make up for our losses,” Ernesto, 50, said.

World Vision assessment team is currently checking the situation in several villages in the municipality of Bugallon.  “We are ensuring that children are ok and their basic needs are provided. We’ve noticed that many of their parents, who are farmers, are without work at the moment. Their houses and farmlands are still flooded. We continuously coordinate with the local government units in Bugallon to know how World Vision can augment its assistance to the communities,” Carol Cabading, Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist for Luzon, said.

—World Vision/July 30, 2018

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