Twenty-six police stations and headquarters sustained damage due to the onslaught of Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-wong), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame on Monday, PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said the following municipal police stations were affected:
Cagayan Valley Region
Ambaguio, Nueva Vizcaya
Western Visayas
Libertad, Antique
Eastern Visayas
Saint Bernard, Leyte
Anahawan, Leyte
San Francisco, Leyte
Mercedes, Eastern Samar
Arteche, Eastern Samar
Oras, Eastern Samar
San Policarpio, Eastern Samar
Dolores, Eastern Samar
Balangiga, Eastern Samar
Maslog, Eastern Samar
An 11th municipal police station in Eastern Visayas was also damaged, but the regional police has not yet submitted a full report, according to Tuaño.
Similarly, two regional headquarters and 11 police stations were damaged by the typhoon in Bicol Region, but the regional police office has yet to submit a full report, the PNP public information chief added.
The affected police stations had broken roofs, gutters, and windows, Tuaño further noted.
‘Still, the police there are operational. The damage is rather minor, if we could say so, not that heavy. Even if there was damage, our police are still there,’ PNP community relations deputy director Brig. Gen. Vina Guzman said at the press briefing. ‘
Tuaño also reported that 27 uniformed and one non-uniformed PNP personnel had their homes damaged by Typhoon Uwan but were not injured.He said the affected personnel may seek financial assistance from the national police force.
In a statement earlier on Monday, acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the police force deployed 25,878 personnel across the affected regions in response to the typhoon.
Uwan was last spotted approximately 135 kilometers (km) west-northwest of Bacnotan, La Union at 10 a.m. on Monday, according to the latest update by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
The typhoon was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 130 km per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 160 kph while moving west-northwest at 20 kph.