#MovePH: A #ReliefPH call for help

MANILA, Philippines – Several areas in Luzon have been placed under a state of calamity due to the torrential rains brought by an unprecendented southwest monsoon and enhanced by the tropical storm Maring that struck on Sunday, August 18. The areas include the provinces of Laguna, Pampanga, Bataan, and Cavite, as well as Paranaque City and the towns of San Mateo and Taytay in Rizal, and Sta Barbara in Pangasinan.

Other affected areas include 16 provinces, 24 cities, 59 towns, and 659 barangays, the Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD) reported on Tuesday.

Across Luzon, more than one million people (223,991 families) are now affected by the weather disturbance, with the number of dead reaching 9, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Wednesday morning, August 21.

Local disaster and risk management authorities there are conducting voluntary evacuation of residents. 

Call for help

As the rains weakend in the early afternoon of August 20, netizens went to social media to find out how they could help victims of tropical storm Maring. Others have organized relief operations and set up drop-off points for donations. 

The common message online is: the people affected by Maring need our help. Rappler’s MovePH calls on its readers to channel the spirit of bayanihan (community) and show that the Filipino spirit is waterproof.

Volunteers who wish to help can proceed to the DSWD National Operations Center and assist in the repacking of relief goods for typhoon victims.

Here’s how you can volunteer for the DSWD #ReliefPH Center:

You can also volunteer for #ReliefPH operations of other organizations.

How to conduct relief operations

If you are planning to conduct your own relief operation, here’s a suggestion on how to do it.

Rappler is compiling a list of evacuation centers and relief donation centers for Typhoon Maring victims.

If you are organizing a relief drive or are accepting relief donations, let us know by tweeting @moveph or emailing us at move.ph@rappler.com, use the hashtag #ReliefPH. 

If you want to be linked up to a relief operations center, use the hashtag #MovePH and the MovePH team will respond.

If you want to directly go to the evacuation centers to deliver your goods, look for the social welfare officer on the ground.

Let’s all be a part of the solution. – Rappler.com