Some P1,988,444.00 worth of relief goods have been provided to the victims of typhoon Mario in the affected areas in Central Luzon region.

The assistance came from the combined resources of the DSWD and local government units (LGUs) of the affected areas. Of the said amount, P1,122,116.00 worth of relief assistance came from the DSWD and P825,095.00 from the LGUS of the affected provinces/municipalities.
As in the past, the DSWD Field Office III is always prepared to provide augmentation support to the affected families particularly those who are temporarily staying in the evacuation centers.

As part of its preparation, the Field Office has stepped-up its stock pile of family food packs and non-food items. In addition, some 7,154 family food packs are prepositioned in the seven (7) provinces of the region under the management of the Social Welfare and Development (SWAD) teams.

As of 7:00am today, disaster monitoring report showed that Mario has affected 24,075 families or 114,231 persons from the 20 municipalities of the six (6) provinces of Central Luzon. In terms of affected population, the province of Bulacan ranked first with 16,645 families or 81,508 persons; Tarlac with 3,895 families or 13,847 persons; Nueva Ecija with 1,867 families or 13,167; and Pampanga with 1,363 families or 4,494 persons. Other affected provinces are Zambales with 262 families or 1,018 persons and Bataan with 43 families or 197 persons.

Ninety four evacuation centers were set up serving 15,029 families or 72,677 persons. Of these, Bulacan, the hardest hit province, has 63 evacuation centers serving 13,146 families or 65,528 persons; Tarlac with 14 serving 1,302 families or 4,952 persons; Zambales with 14 serving 312 families or 1,268 persons; Pampanga with three (3) serving 227 families or 1,002 persons; and Bataan with one (1) serving 43 families with 197 persons.

The heavy rains that triggered flood in the said areas had left seven (7) families with totally damaged houses and 24 families with partially damaged houses. There were no reported casualties.
The Field Office has also reactivated its Quick Response Team to monitor the extent of the disaster and identify the other appropriate services needed by the affected families. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo) September 20, 2014