Residents of La Castellana, Negros Occidental, whose houses were washed out by Typhoon Tino on Nov. 4 remain in schools that serve as evacuation centers.
The Department of Education has an existing memorandum that evacuees can only use its schools as evacuation centers for 15 days.
The La Castellana local government asked for an extension during a Local School Board meeting that was granted, John de Asis, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer of La Castellana, said on Friday, Nov. 28.
They are still preparing temporary shelters for the residents whose houses were washed out, including those from areas that have been declared no build zones, De Asis said.
They will temporarily live in prefabricated modular tents of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, he said.
The identified areas that will be temporarily occupied are the open field of the college and the Kasilingan Village in Brgy Robles.
There were also houses in La Castellana were damaged by falling trees and mud during the typhoon, he said.
Mayor Añejo Nicor, in a report to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Nov. 16, said 3,029 houses were destroyed and 6,832 were damaged in La Castellana.*