BAGUIO CITY — With persistent rains continuing to threaten flood- and landslide-prone communities in the Cordillera, the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD-CAR) has positioned tens of thousands of relief supplies for possible deployment to local government units.
As of 3 p.m. on August 18, DSWD-CAR reported 66,002 family food packs (FFPs), 8,120 ready-to-eat food items and 18,544 assorted non-food items, along with approximately P2.39 million in standby funds. The agency said these resources are available to augment the emergency needs of LGUs should conditions worsen.
The preparedness push comes as the enhanced Southwest Monsoon, or Habagat, continues to bring rain to Northern Luzon, with localized thunderstorms also contributing to the threat of flooding and landslides.
Landslide threat rises as mountain slopes remain saturated
PAGASA’s Northern Luzon forecast issued on August 19 indicated cloudy conditions with scattered rains and thunderstorms, while its afternoon rainfall advisory warned of light to moderate, at times heavy, rains in portions of Benguet and other Northern Luzon provinces.
PAGASA specifically warned residents in mountain-slope communities to take precautions against landslides, mudslides, rockslides and flash floods. Several areas of Benguet, including Baguio City, Itogon, La Trinidad, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay, were among areas experiencing or potentially affected by the rainfall at the time of the advisory.
The danger is particularly concerning because the ground has already absorbed substantial rainfall.
According to PAGASA Baguio, 1,896 millimeters of rain accumulated from August 1 to 16, averaging about 118.5 millimeters per day. PAGASA Baguio Synoptic Station engineer Larry Esperanza warned that saturated soils and mountain slopes increase the possibility of rain-induced landslides, particularly around the Baguio-Benguet area.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau, meanwhile, identified 633 barangays across the Cordillera as susceptible to rain-induced landslides and flooding as of 8 a.m. on August 18.
Benguet accounted for the largest number of potentially vulnerable barangays at 251, followed by Abra with 184, Kalinga with 93, Ifugao with 87, Mountain Province with 10, and Apayao with eight.
Relief operations already underway
The current preparedness effort follows weeks of weather-related impacts across the region.
In an August 14 report, PIA said DSWD-CAR had already released approximately P6.11 million worth of food, non-food items and cash assistance as of August 12 to families affected by recent tropical cyclones and enhanced Habagat rains.
The assistance included family food packs, ready-to-eat food, drinking water, tents, hygiene kits, family kits, kitchen kits and sleeping kits, as well as cash assistance under the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.
The scale of the humanitarian response reflects the number of people already affected. A DSWD-CAR situation report cited by PIA on August 14 placed the number of affected families at 25,540, or 67,589 individuals, with hundreds of displaced families either staying in evacuation centers or temporarily living with relatives and friends.
Separate reporting by the Philippine Daily Inquirer also showed the continuing impact on Baguio residents. As of August 14, city authorities recorded 243 affected families, or 1,112 individuals, including 125 displaced families. The city government, DSWD-CAR and private donors had provided roughly P3.1 million in combined assistance.
Earlier in August, The Daily Tribune reported that 468 families, or 1,698 individuals, had been displaced across 94 barangays in Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Baguio City because of persistent rains associated with the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay.
DSWD keeps emergency response on standby
DSWD-CAR, which chairs the response cluster of the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, is also maintaining a virtual Emergency Operations Center to strengthen coordination among government agencies.
The RDRRMC Emergency Operations Center at the Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera remains on Blue Alert, allowing authorities to maintain round-the-clock monitoring of weather conditions and situation reports from provinces and cities across the region.
For residents in communities vulnerable to landslides and flooding, authorities are urging vigilance rather than waiting for conditions to become critical.
PAGASA and disaster officials are advising residents to closely monitor official weather and disaster bulletins and to follow evacuation orders from local authorities. Communities along mountain slopes are particularly urged to be prepared for sudden landslides, rockfalls and flash floods.
The message from authorities is clear: the relief supplies are ready, but the weather remains a threat.
As long as Habagat continues to bring rain over the Cordillera, saturated slopes and vulnerable communities will remain under heightened risk — making early evacuation and close monitoring potentially critical in preventing another disaster.
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