MMDA deploys personnel to flood-hit Samar provinces

Responding to the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority sent a 40-man contingent to Northern and Eastern Samar in Visayas after the provinces were recently inundated by floods.

The contingent, composed of personnel from the Public Safety Division and Road Emergency Group, is composed of two groups, both tasked to conduct humanitarian and relief operations among affected residents.

MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Don Artes said each group will bring with them 30 units of solar-powered water purification systems. Each unit can filter 180 gallons of water per hour.

"With the lack of potable water supply in the area, our team's main task is to set up water filtration systems in communities with limited to zero supply of clean water to drink," he said, noting that one group of humanitarian contingent can produce 21,600 liters of water per hour.

"This is in response to the directive of President Marcos to extend humanitarian assistance to our kababayans in Northern and Eastern Samar who have been severely affected by heavy flooding," he added.

Artes said that the two teams will stay in the said provinces as needed to fully address the needs and concerns in the area.

Both the provincial councils of Northern Samar and Eastern Samar have declared a state of calamity in their respective provinces due to heavy rains and landslides.