Tue | 01.15.2019 | 12:00 NN

A young girl walks past the ruins of a house destroyed by severe flooding that struck the town of Lope de Vega at the height of Tropical Storm Usman’s onslaught last December 29, 2018.

Houses in Lope de Vega town, which were made of light materials were easily damaged by the Tropical Storm Usman.

An elderly resident of Lope de Vega town in Northern Samar inspects the relief pack she received from PAGCOR.

There was noticeable calmness in the face of 33-year-old housewife Ma. Gloria Saldo as she sat among other calamity victims in a covered basketball court in the remote town of Lope de Vega in Northern Samar.

Saldo even managed to smile when asked how she was coping after the destructive flood swept their community at the height of Tropical storm Usman last December 29, 2018.

“Nawalan man kami ng bahay at mga kagamitan, masaya pa rin ako dahil kumpleto pa rin ang pamilya ko pagkatapos ng bagyo,” the mother of five recalled. She shared how they frantically sought higher grounds when floodwaters reached waist-deep following continuous heavy rains.

Minda Panao, 36, was not as fortunate as she lost three family members including her five-year-old son when landslides triggered by incessant downpour struck Barangay Henaronagan early evening that fateful day.

“Inabot ng baha yung evacuation center na tinakbuhan namin kaya umakyat kami ng bundok sa pag-aakalang ligtas kami doon. Biglang nagkaroon ng landslide at natumba ang isang malaking puno na dumagan sa tatlong kapamilya ko,” she sadly recounted.

Along with thousands of affected residents, Saldo and Panao received timely aid from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) when Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo immediately directed the agency to conduct relief operations for the calamity victims in Northern Samar. The relief mission was held from January 12 to 13, 2019.

Apart from distributing relief packs containing rice and assorted grocery items, PAGCOR also handed financial assistance to each family of the six casualties from Lope de Vega.

“Napakalaking tulong ang inihatid ng PAGCOR sa mga residente ng aming bayan na kung hindi man nawalan ng mga tahanan at kabuhayan eh nawalan ng mga mahal sa buhay dahil sa baha at landslides na dulot ng bagyong Usman,” said Lope de Vega town Mayor Ana Palloc.

The incident isolated Lope de Vega for two days as floodwaters as high as 20-feet inundated the fourth-class municipality and affected close to 4,000 families from 22 barangays.

Go back