December 10 – 11, 2012
Another BM Team left very early morning today (December 11) for Boston, Cateel and Baganga, Davao Oriental to continue what our first DR Team has started, and to link up with our BM Surigao del Sur Team already on the ground since last week.
They bring with them more tents, rolls of “trapal”, medicines, food items and wa
Reports from the Ground:
A. Boston-Cateel-Baganga, Davao Oriental:
What the Team has done:
1. Purchased medicines and supplies in Cagayan de Oro City before leaving for Davao Oriental
2. Proceeded to the 67IB camp in Baganga and met up with Col. Kris Mortela
3. Cooked for ourselves and shared food with some of the soldiers
4. Unpacked tents and allowed to air-dry
5. Sorted tents into “tent-able” and “trap-able”
6. Helped the 67IB in Distributing tents and trapal to three barangays in Baganga: San Antonio, Ban-ao and Kibanlang
7. Demonstrated how to set up tents
8. Coordination visit at ICP
9. Dropped off medications and medical supplies at ICP
10. Coordination visit at the Cateel District Hospital
11. Assisted at the medicine dispensing unit of Cateel District Hospital
12. Shared candies and biscuits with children along the road _
13. Sent off some of our volunteers who had to come home for urgent deadlines/family concerns
14. Made Contact with PhilDHRAA
15. Start repacking rice and other relief goods
Some of the Assistance Seen/Observed in the Area:
1. MMDA has provided a water converter to transform river water to potable water
2. IOM provided trapals, will probably organize shelter management
3. International Red Cross has already sent an assessment team who visited the hospital
4. Regional Disaster Management Davao – provided generator set
5. ABS CBN team was there to cover the disaster and also provided free viewing for Manny Pacquiao’s fight to the residents
6. Also there were DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman and former VP Noli de Castro
Health Situation:
Common chief complaints(still to provide accurate statistics) are: Injuries from rocks and debris, Colds, Cough, Loose Bowel Movement
Distributed by Balay Mindanaw:
I. To three barangays in Baganga: San Antonio, Ban-ao and Kibanlang:
13 set tents
39 large trapal
37 medium trapal
10 shovels
6 sacks used clothings
41 empty shelter boxes
5 rolls 8ftx50m trapal
1 roll 6ftx50m trapal
II. To the yet-to-be-set-up Out-Patient Department at Cateel:
Medicines
2180 capsules Amoxicillin 500mg
50 bottles Amoxicillin 250mg/5ml
33 bottles Amoxicillin drops
500 tablets Paracetamol 500mg
20 bottles Paracetamol 250mg/5ml
4 bottles Paracetamol 125mg/ml
1100 capsules Mefenamic Acid 500mg
100 sachets Oral Rehydrating Solution
300 tablets Ascorbic Acid 500mg
300 tablets AlMg (Antacid) 200mg
200 capsules Loperamide 2mg
500 tablets Chlorphenamine 4mg
256 tablets Lagundi 300mg
100 tablets Captopril 25mg
300 capsules Doxycycline 300mg
Medical Supplies
3 Safeguard soap bars, medium sized
3 pieces thermometers
2 rolls elastic bandages
5 small bottles Hydrogen Peroxide
2 rolls brown plaster
50 pieces face masks
100 pieces surgical gloves
100 packs sterile gauze
6 big bottles Ethyl Alcohol
4 small bottles of Povidone Iodine
3 large packs of cotton
PRIORITY URGENT NEEDS:
1. FOOD
It is difficult to find food in the area other than canned goods that survived the storm. Entire farmlands have been destroyed, depriving people of their food source. Some people I talked to at the hospital claim that no feeding program has been done in their evacuation center at San Agustin (?) Elementary School yet.
2. WATER AND WATER STORAGE CONTAINERS
There are springs in the area that may be a potential water source. As mentioned, the MMDA has provided two water converters. Still no data on how many people these can provide water for.
3. MEDICINES
There is still a high demand for Antitetanus Serum (ATS) due to the nature of the injuries sustained. From my observation during my stint in dispensing meds at the hospital, two demographics which have the least medical provisions are small children and pregnant women. We kept on running out of syrups and suspensions for children, and no vitamins were available for pregnant women. I recommend consulting an Obstetrician-Gynecologist, a Pediatrician,a Family Medicine Physician or a Public HealthWorker for medicines. However, as observed, we kept running out of the following:
Amoxicillin suspension (for children) and drops (for small children)
Carbocisteine syrup and drops
Oral Rehydrating Solution (ORS) – preferably in liquid form, as water is scarce
Metronidazole tablets and suspensions
(Partner parati ng Metronidazole and Dilantin Furoate so baka ok din yun)
4. SLEEPING MATS/BANIG AND BLANKETS
TEMPORARY SHELTERS AND ADDITIONAL TRAPAL
5. LIGHTING
Lamps and lamp fuel
Candles and matches
6. HYGIENE
Hygiene in the area is currently poor, with the limited amount of water and with toilet facilities destroyed. It is important that the residents will be able to maintain some level of sanitation, otherwise many diseases are likely to spread among them.
Latrines
Soap
Shampoo
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Sanitary napkins
Construction of bathrooms/restrooms
7. STRESS DEBRIEFING
I think this one deserves high priority. What these people encountered is absolutely traumatic beyond description.
8. Can we also include mini-feeding programs for soldiers and health care workers?
At the moment, there is huge pressure on the soldiers to rebuild their own camp and provide relief at the same time. Their own resources are limited at the moment and have hinted that food even if only just bread would be appreciated. The health care workers also primarily have been pulled out of hospitals and health centers outside of the area. There are not many of them and for days they have been at the front lines, taking care of patients away from their own homes.
LONG-TERM NEEDS:
1. CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO BUILD THEIR HOMES
2. LIVELIHOOD
Since most farmlands and buildings were destroyed, many do not anymore have a source of livelihood, save for some who managed to salvage their wares.
Important Reminders for incoming teams and volunteers:
For teams who will be coming to the area, please note that there is absolutely no proper place to stay there. As I have said, pretty much all the structures in the area were affected. The weather is burning hot during the day and cold at night. Aside from the standard clothes, personal hygiene provisions, blankets and food. We recommend that you bring:
Caps
Warm blankets
Scarves
Sleeping bags
Wet wipes
Lots and lots of water
Healthy food
Alcohol or hand sanitizers
Jackets
Sun block
Mosquito repellant
Ice boxes (to store food)
Also highly recommend stress debriefing to all volunteers and staff of every batch that comes here.
Transportation:
The nearest gasoline station is in Lingig, more than 25 kilometers from Cateel but is currently nonfunctional. The next one is in Mangagoy which is 39 kilometers from Lingig. We recommend that all vehicles maintain full tanks, and refill frequently along the way. The military may be able to provide us with diesel but as their own stocks are also limited, we should not be dependent on them for this.
Communication:
Communication in the area is generally down, with few exceptions:
There is intermittent Smart signal at the 67IB Camp.
There is intermittent Globe signal while mobile to the area and on top of the Legislative Office (where the ICP has made its home base.)
No signal for Sun Cellular noted.
OTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:
1. There is a fault line that runs from Surigao City to Davao Oriental. The place is at risk for earthquakes. In fact, while we were there, we experienced a strong but brief earthquake.
2. The Boston-Cateel-Baganga area faces the Pacific Ocean. Compounded with the fault line, this means that tsunami risk is very high.
3. Typhoon Pablo destroyed most of the trees and foliage covering the mountains. There is therefore high risk for landslides and rockslides. Landslides and rockslides have already happened along the road (CAUTION to travelers) and we fear that it may strike the already devastated communities.
Thanks and Congratulations to everybody on this team: Lala, Jojow, Marites, Bernard, Alger, Lisbeth, Lileth, Uly, Darryl, Tepai, Debbie, Tony, Jun, Wael and others (we will provide a more complete list later).
B. Surigao del Sur Team Assessment Report
The hardest hit areas that sustained heavy damage were in the southern part specifically Municipality of Hinatuan, Bislig, and Lingig which is the boundary of Davao Oriental. Moderate damage was experienced in the area of MACASALTABAYAMI and some north municipalities.
There were 13 affected municipalities with 93 Barangays. The total number of affected families was 16,521. There was 3 Casualty from Lingig and 5 from Bislig ( Source : DILG, PDRRMC)
Surigao del Sur was declared under State of Calamity since December 5, 2012 under SP 1143. Local Government Units through their Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils were first to respond to the needs of the communities affected. Calamity funds were utilized usually food items during the evacuation. KAPUSO foundation and Save the Children was able to provide food items in hardest hit areas.
Water supply and Electricity were down in areas of Lingig, Bislig, and Hinatuan. Vice President Binay visited Municipality of Lingig yesterday. 3 Barangays in Municipality of Lingig were totally washed out. Roads were still not passable in 3 Barangays. Relief distribution was made through pump boats. Relief for Municipality of Boston,Davao Oriental was being passed through Lingig as roads to these areas were damaged.
For our partner communities, Municipality of Lianga and Cagwait, damages were observable mostly on coastal areas. Number of affected families in Lianga reached 583 families and in Cagwait 525 families. Damages were also observed in crops, livestock, and livelihood in the coastal areas. Our partner barangays, Tawagan, Diatagon, and St Christine sustained partial damages especially on residential which were made up of light materials. There was no injured or casualty in the areas.
By Decmebr 7, all of the evacuees in our partner areas already went home. Generally, the communities here in the MACASALTABAYAMI area are coping fast from the damages brought by the typhoon.
( Source : BDRRMC, MDRRMC of Lianga and Cagwait)
We have provided food assistance to Brgy Tawagan. Most of the areas expressed the need of repair kits for partially damaged houses. The team coordinated and met with the PDRRMC, MDRRMC, BDRRMC, DILG and MACASALTABAYAMI. LAWIG KALINAW and PPOC were also assisting in Monitoring and Providing assistance. (More detailed Damage Assessment on Separate Sheet on MACASALTABAYAMI and most hardly hit areas)
We will provide a detailed report of the assistance provided in a separate report.
Suggestions on How we proceed:
1. Most of our partner areas identified gaps and needs are on Basic Repair Kits for Partially Damaged Houses.
2. Explore the possibility to lend support and to efficiently assist and provide assistance if the resources will allow in the most hard hit areas like Municipality of Lingig. Mostly food items were provided. Trapal for temporary Shelter,water, and clothes and non food items have been initially identified.
3. Continue monitoring and coordination with DRRRMC and LGUs for updates and needs.
Throughbour small team, we wish to reaffirm our commitment to journey with the people of Surigao del Sur, through good and bad times.
RESOURCES:
Just like in our Sendong Disaster Response Operations, we continue to be strengthened, reaffirmed and inspired by the amazing goodwill and support that we receive from you and the many friends, and even strangers.
As of today (December 11), here are the resources and pledges we have received:
Cash/Bank Deposit:
Philip Lo – Ph 100, 000
Angie Legara – Php 5, 000. 00
Evelyn Buenaventura – Php 5, 000. 00
Lourdes Veneracion – Php 1, 000. 00
Pledges:
AIM Batch 92 = Php 50, 000
Mr. Ralph Casino = Php 50, 000. 00
Miriam College – Center for Peace Education and GZO Php 20, 000
Victor Gerardo Bulatao = Php 20, 000
Dollars = Emma Leslie and Sister = US$ 400. 00
From Resource Partners
– Johanniter – 180, 000 Euro (proposal sent yesterday)
– Canada Fund (No amount yet)
– AUSAid (No amount yet)
– The Rotary Club of Canberra, Weston Creek is transferring A$1,000, (approx P 40,000) thru Barry Hicks
Pledges with Unspecified Amount:
Luz Mojica
Brenda Batestina
Teody Pena
Kat and Ron Graham
Dodong Matura
And many many messages of support and encouragement.
We sincerely thank you again and again for your continuing accompaniment as we try to live our mantra:
We refuse to be victims. We choose to be resources.
Balay Mindanaw