U.S. provides PHP13.8 million more for flood-hit families

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The U.S. government is providing an additional PHP13.8 million (USD250,000) in humanitarian aid to deliver emergency shelter assistance and hygiene kits to more than 3,000 families—or approximately 15,800 individuals—still staying in evacuation centers in Rizal, Laguna, Bulacan, and Pampanga following severe flooding in July.

This latest aid brings the total U.S. humanitarian support for disaster response efforts in the Philippines to PHP27.6 million (USD500,000).

Through this new tranche of funding, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will distribute shelter-grade tarpaulins, shelter repair kits, and essential household supplies to families whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

Each shelter repair kit contains basic construction tools and materials to help families begin rebuilding their homes.

To promote health and sanitation in evacuation centers, families will also receive hygiene kits containing soap, buckets, and cleaning supplies.

IOM will also monitor the condition of hygiene and sanitation facilities to ensure the safety and well-being of affected families.

“Although flooding has subsided in most areas, thousands of families remaining in evacuation centers continue to face significant challenges,” said U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Y. Robert Ewing.

“We are grateful to be working alongside our partners—including IOM, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Philippines’ Office of Civil Defense, and the DSWD—to help affected families recover and rebuild,” he added.

Earlier, the U.S. government provided PHP13.8 million (USD250,000) to support WFP in delivering 47,700 DSWD family food packs that benefited more than 200,000 people across Northern and Central Luzon.

U.S. military air assets, in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, also helped deliver 6,300 DSWD food packs for 18,000 individuals in Batanes.