With the magnitude of the landslide which occurred in Sitio Sindulan, Brgy. Tinaan in Naga City, Cebu on September 20, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has intensified the provision of technical assistance to the local government unit (LGU) including management of evacuation centers,   resource augmentation, and hands-on training of LGU personnel on disaster management.

DSWD-Field Office VII Director Evelyn Macapobre said that since this is the first time that the LGU of Naga City has experienced this kind of  disaster,  it is important to guide the staff on how to manage the evacuation centers including the process of accepting donation, and dealing with volunteers.

Also, at present, DSWD social workers are training LGU personnel as camp managers.

The Field Office established the evacuation camps on September 21, a day after the landslide which affected 1,493 families or 6,208 persons in five barangays in the said city.

DSWD-FO VII has deployed staff to man the evacuation centers.  It has also assigned  camp managers who work with their counterparts from the LGU.

“We fielded our staff in the six evacuation centers to help ensure that basic human right to life and dignity of displaced families is upheld,” added Dir. Macapobre.

Dir. Macapobre explained that to ensure orderly camp coordination and management, internally-displaced families in the evacuation centers were grouped by cluster, each having their own leaders to look into their respective needs and concerns.

The affected families are staying in the evacuation centers set-up at the Naga Central Elementary School, Enan Chiong Activity Center, Naalad Elementary School, Apo Cement Gym, Naga National High School, and Colon Elementary School.

Moreover, the Field Office established an operations center at the city hall which doubles as a public information center.

As of September 24, there are 1,253 families or 5,516 individuals staying in the evacuation centers.

Volunteer groups continue to arrive in the area while individuals, families, private schools, foundations, news outlets, and universities also came yesterday to hand over their donations. To document all donated goods, the Field Office set-up  a donation desk.

According to Director Macapobre the regional warehouse and the Visayas Disaster Response Center is now manually repacking goods with the help of over 370 volunteers, mostly from schools, universities and other private institutions.

“The Department’s Cash-for-Work (CFW) scheme is also utilized to hasten production of family food packs,” she added.

Meanwhile, more than 50 DSWD regional and field office staff are mobilized in shifting schedule, and are spread across the evacuation centers in order to provide support to LGU personnel in the assessment and intake of displaced families, relief/logistical needs, and provision of psychosocial support, especially among children and women in the evacuation centers. ###