Caraga flood victims receive needed aid

BUTUAN CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development on Sunday disclosed that its Caraga Region office has provided additional 86,979 family food packs to various towns in three provinces in the region that were severely hit by floods in the past two weeks.

The DSWD-13 said that the food packs were handed over to the local government units through a series of deliveries and distribution activities.

Data from the agency revealed that the augmentations were sent to 12 towns in Agusan del Sur, three in Surigao del Sur, one in Agusan del Norte, and in Butuan City and of the total deliveries, 68,857 FFPs went to 12 towns in Agusan del Sur — Esperanza, La Paz, Loreto, Rosario, San Francisco, Prosperidad, San Luis, Santa Josefa, Talacogon, Trento, Veruela and Bunawan.

The DSWD reported that the towns were severely hit by flooding since last week due to heavy rains caused by the shear line and the trough of a low-pressure area.

A total of 11,139 FFPs were sent to Surigao del Sur, particularly in the towns of Barobo, Hinatuan, and Lingig as the agency also sent 1,498 FFPs to Las Nieves in Agusan del Norte and 5,485 FFPs to the city government of Butuan.

Barangays in Butuan City and Las Nieves were flooded this week due to the rising level of the Agusan River.

In Butuan City, the City Social Welfare and Development Office said that as of Saturday, a total of 6,021 families or 22,176 individuals have been affected by floods in 33 barangays.