The Department of Social Welfare and Development has identified 13 towns in Eastern Samar as potential recipients of family food packs after Typhoon Jolina.

In a phone interview Wednesday, DSWD Eastern Visayas regional information officer Abelardo Bibat said these towns are Lawaan, Balangiga, Giporlos, Quinapondan, Salcedo, Mercedes, Guiuan, Gen. Macarthur, Hernani, Llorente, Balangkayan, Maydolong, and San Julian.

Of these towns, five have sent requests to DSWD for additional relief items.

“DSWD continues to prepare the family food packs (FFPs) that will be sent to the local government units. Currently, the agency has 13,103 FFPs stored in various strategic locations across the region. We expect to release these food packs soon,” Bibat said.

Each food pack consists of rice, canned goods, and coffee, packed in a small box for one family.

The FFPs have been prepositioned in warehouses in Catarman, Northern Samar; Allen, Northern Samar, Can-avid, Eastern Samar; Catbalogan City, Samar; Naval, Biliran; and Maasin City, Southern Leyte.

The bulk of the food packs is stored at the DSWD Regional Resource Operations Center warehouse in Palo, Leyte.

The DSWD reminds local governments that they are the first to respond to disasters, and they may request additional food assistance from the DSWD if necessary.

“Jolina” left a trail of destruction as it crossed Samar Island on Sept. 6 and 7. The DSWD said in its official report that the storm has killed five persons, injured 1, and rendered 18 others missing.

There are 273 totally damaged houses and 11,496 partially damaged in 36 towns in Eastern Visayas when the typhoon crossed the region.

The storm made five landfalls in Samar with the first in Hernani, Eastern Samar on the night of Sept. 6. It also made landfalls in the towns of Daram, Santo Niño, Almagro, and Tagapul-an, Samar. (PNA)