Mon | 11.23.2020 | 10::00 AM

Flood survivor Dante Tapulao recounts how a raft made of bamboo poles helped him bring his family members and pets to safety as raging floodwaters swept their community in Enrile town, Cagayan.

Several residents of Barangay Tueg in Baggao, Cagayan affected by the landslide incident that claimed four lives pose with PAGCOR volunteer employees after receiving relief packs from the agency.

A woman points at the piles of wood that once formed her home before a deadly landslide destroyed her abode and took the lives of four of her loved ones In Barangay Tueg, a mountainside community in Baggao town, Cagayan. PAGCOR provided financial assistance to the families of those who perished during Typhoon Ulysses’ onslaught.

TUGUEGARAO, Cagayan – Immediate aid reached thousands of families here after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) delivered essential goods to distant communities, which were recently devastated by floods brought by Typhoon Ulysses.

PAGCOR distributed food and non-food packs to mostly indigent families from Tuguegarao City and several low-lying communities which were isolated for days as floodwaters sent residents to their rooftops to seek temporary shelter.

The food packs contained rice, instant noodles and assorted canned goods, while non-food packs contained mosquito nets, blankets and soaps, among others.

The agency also provided P20,000 financial assistance to each family with a member who perished in the worst flooding and landslides to hit the northern province in decades.

Forty-two-year-old Dante Tapulao, a resident of Enrile town, was one of the grateful beneficiaries of PAGCOR’s relief mission. Despite losing several material possessions, he considered himself fortunate to have brought all his family members and their pets to safety. As raging waters quickly inundated their community on the early morning of November 12, he was able to evacuate his family using a raft made out of bamboo poles.

“Sa kabila ng sinapit namin dahil sa matinding pagbaha, nagpapa-salamat pa rin ako sa Diyos na buhay kami at ligtas ang pamilya ko. May mga tumutulong din sa amin para makaraos sa araw-araw naming pagkain. Mas mahalaga ang buhay kaysa mga gamit na nawala sa amin,” he said.

According to Cagayan’s Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office chief Helen Donato, it will take some time before the people of Cagayan could fully recover from the recent calamity that hit the province, and they need all the help they can get to return to normalcy.

“We’re very grateful to receive immediate help from agencies like PAGCOR. This will definitely aid our people as they slowly recover from the effects of the disaster,” she said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) estimated the damage to agriculture and infrastructure inflicted by typhoon Ulysses at P10 billion. In its latest situational report, the NDRRMC said Ulysses destroyed P4 billion worth of crops in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Bicol, Cordillera and Metro Manila; and P6 billion in infrastructure in the same regions and in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan).

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