MANILA – Super Typhoon Uwan (international name Fung-Wong) has affected approximately 231,000 families, or around 837,000 individuals, according to the Philippines’ Office of Civil Defense (OCD) report released Monday.

“The effects of the typhoon were reported in 2,700 barangays,” said OCD Deputy Administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro during an online press briefing.

Of those displaced, 92,000 people are currently staying in approximately 6,000 evacuation centers across Mimaropa, Calabarzon (Region 4A), Bicol (Region 5), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Caraga (Region 13), and the Negros Island Region.

Alejandro added that two deaths are being verified—one in Viga, Catanduanes, and another in Catbalogan City, Samar. Two individuals have been reported injured, one in Bato, Catanduanes, and another in Kalinog, Iloilo. “These incidents are still under validation by our concerned regional and local DRRMCs (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils),” he said.

Damage assessments indicate that 1,085 houses were affected, with 89 classified as “totally damaged” and 996 as “partially damaged.” Evaluations of agricultural and infrastructure losses are ongoing.

In preparation for the storm, Alejandro noted that 3,497 teams and 7,308 assets from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, and Philippine National Police were prepositioned. Additionally, 894 teams and 190 assets are currently deployed for relief operations.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla stated that the entire military remains on red alert. “Sa ngayon po, nakapag-deploy ang AFP ng 349 Disaster Response Task Units (DRTUs) and search and rescue, retrieval (SRR) teams sa iba’t ibang lugar po na tinamaan ng Super Typhoon Uwan,” she said.

Padilla added that 1,159 DRTUs and SRR teams are prepositioned and ready for deployment as needed to support ongoing relief, rescue, and recovery operations.

📷 Jossa Floranza