A late night fire destroys several houses in Sitio Guiwanon, Barangay Looc, Lapu-Lapu City on Saturday, March 30. |Tonee Despojo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Officials of Barangay Looc in Lapu-Lapu City are preparing to declare the area under state of calamity after more than a hundred individuals from Sitio Guiwanon were left homeless by the Saturday night fire.
Andy Berame, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) Officer, said that they recommended placing the barangay under a state of calamity so that it could get money from its quick response fund to aid the fire victims.
The Saturday night fire burned 17 structures and partially damaged two others, Berame said in a phone interview with CDN Digital on Sunday, March 31.
He also said that at least 34 families or 181 individuals were displaced by the at least 2 hour-long fire.
The fire broke out at Sitio Guiwanon, Barangay Looc, Lapu-Lapu City around 8:36 p.m. and was placed under Task Force Alpha at 9:08 p.m. The fire alarm was raised further to Task Force Bravo before it was declared under control at 10:10 p.m.
Read more: Saturday night fire damages 20 structures in Brgy Looc, Lapu-Lapu City
“Mao na siya ang ilang buhaton [to declare a state of calamity] aron magamit nila ang ilang quick response fund under sa ilang Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF),” Berame said.
(They need to declare a state of calamity so that they can release and utilize the quick response fund under their LDRRMF.)
Berame added that the barangay would take charge of the emergency response efforts to the fire victims who were housed in the barangay gymnasium.
He said that personnel from the City’s Social Welfare and Development Office had been conducting validation of the families affected by the fire.
The CSWD will determine the age brackets of the fire victims in order to lay down the proper needs assessment and response.
Berame also said the fire victims would still need sleeping materials like mats, pillows, and blankets since most of them had not been able to save their belongings from the fire.
“Pinaka-immediate gyud nga needs nila ang sleeping materials kay tapot lawas ra gyud ilang kasagaran nga nakuha,” Berame said.
(Sleeping materias are their immediate needs because the only thing that most of them managed to salvage from their houses are the clothes that they are wearing.)/dbs