BANGUED, Abra (PIA) -- Various government agencies continue to collaborate to assist affected communities in Abra that was heavily hit during the height of Super Typhoon Egay. 

Members of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) convened for an Emergency Meeting earlier today (July 28) to discuss situation updates and strengthen coordination of disaster response and relief efforts.

The latest PDRRMC partial report  showed at least 41,627 families with 161,630 individuals  were mostly affected by severe flooding due to the swelling of the Abra River and other waterways during the height of typhoon Egay. There were  also 1,979 partially damaged and 90 totally damaged houses.  

The partial report also showed a total of 47 unpassable road sections in the different municipalities.Some isolated barangays including Bollilising, Lumaba and Cal-lao in Villaviciosa and Barangays Palang and Sitio Mausoc, Poblacion in San Quintin were reported. 

A total of at least P24,669,183 cost of damages on various sectors and more than P26.9 million damage to agriculture were initially  recorded.

PDRRMC Chairperson Governor Dominic Valera  urged for a stronger implementation of pre-emptive evacuation before typhoons and other calamities strike.

“Agaramid tayo kuma ti ordinansia wenno ti resolution nga sakbay ti bagyo ket agpa-evacuate ta ma-evacuate dagiti tattao,” he said.

The Governor thanked the different government agencies who extended assistance to rescue and provide relief assistance to the typhoon victims.

With a total of 331 families with 1,303 individuals inside nine evacuation centers and 1,490 families with 5,575 individuals are housed at their relatives or friends, DSWD SWAD-Abra Team Leader Merly De Guzman shared that 20,000 foodpacks were delivered from the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau.

“We have 4,804 foodpacks at the warehouse. We started giving the requests from LGUs and Tayum, Danglas, Pilar, Tineg, Bucay, San Juan already started hauling foodpacks, some hygiene kits, family kits, and sleeping kits,” she shared.

As of latest report from the PDRRMC, around P964,100 government assistance was already given to affected families.

During said meeting, Abra Electric Cooperative (ABRECO) SPS Head Nesvi Jhune Bio also gave updates on the efforts to restore power as provincewide power interruption is being experienced since Tuesday (July 25).

“Hopefully by this afternoon mabibigyan po natin ng power ang Bangued. Ang backbone line kahapon (July 27) pa po na-restore, yun na lang pong problema natin yung individual service line,” he explained.

The Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the Department of Science and Technology also presented actions to boost communication as network signals continue to fluctuate.

DICT-Abra Provincial Officer Rufino Cabato shared that telecommunication equipment were already deployed to augment communication in the province. These include a VSAT equipment set, a generator set, five units of Globe LTE modems, one satellite phone, and two units of VHF handheld radios.

Other government agencies such as the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Army, the Philippine Red Cross, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office reported on ongoing rescue and clearing operations.(JJPM-PIA Abra)