The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided more than PHP4.1 million worth of humanitarian assistance to families affected by the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Crising.

“Sa kasalukuyan, ang total cost of humanitarian assistance na nai-provide na po ng DSWD ay nagkakahalaga na ng mahigit PHP4.1 million (Currently, the total cost of humanitarian assistance provided by the DSWD is more than PHP4.1 million),” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in a weekly news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.

“Ito ay inisyal na tulong pa lang po, binubuo ng mga family food packs and non-food items (This is just initial assistance, consisting of family food packs and non-food items).”

As of 6 a.m., more than 68,000 families, or 215,000 individuals, from 495 villages in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula have been affected as Crising battered the country, based on the data from the DSWD and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

Dumlao said about 5,400 are currently staying in evacuation centers.

OCD Officer-in-Charge Rafaelito Alejandro IV said floods were reported in 53 areas in the Ilocos Region, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, and Caraga.

“Twenty-six are still flooded, as of this morning,” Alejandro said, noting that 57 road sections and six bridges were affected.

Alejandro said two people were reported missing in Antique due to flooding.

Antique’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer III, Michael Tolentino, on Friday identified those missing as Leonardo Alabog and Allan Zona, both residents of Sitio Banglid in Barangay Bacalan.

Alabog and Zona were spending the night at the house of their friend Sebastian Alocilja, when they were awakened by gushing water past 2 a.m. Wednesday. They were preparing to escape when they were swept away.

Dumlao said the DSWD’s field offices and quick response teams continue to monitor the situation in Crising-hit areas.

“Naka-deploy po sila para ma-monitor yung sitwasyon, makipag-coordinate with the government units, at ma-provide natin ang kinakailangan pong tulong sa ating mga kababayan (They are deployed to monitor the situation, coordinate with government units, and provide the necessary assistance to our countrymen),” she said. (PNA)