PH sustains P1.7-B agri, infra damage due to storms, 'habagat'

32 areas under state of calamity; death toll at 19

- By MARTIN SADONGDONG and ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ

Successive typhoons and other weather disturbances in the last 10 days left a trail of destruction that caused P1.7 billion worth of damage to the country's agriculture and infrastructure, while 32 areas were placed under a state of calamity, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Saturday, Sept. 27.

A situational report showed that damage to agriculture reached P914,875,615.50, while infrastructure loss was pegged at P822,163,458.08 due to Severe Tropical Storm "Opong", Super Typhoon "Nando", Tropical Depression "Marisol", and the southwest monsoon (habagat).

Cagayan Valley (Region 2) sustained the most agricultural damage worth around P807 million, followed by Ilocos (Region 1) with P82 million, Calabarzon (Region 4A) with P23 million, and Western Visayas with P1.7 million.

For infrastructure, Ilocos Region suffered the most damage with P773 million, followed by Western Visayas with P43 million, Cagayan Valley with P4.64 million, and Mimaropa (Region 4B) with P500,000.

The entire province of Cagayan, composed of 28 municipalities and one city, was placed under a state of calamity as well as Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte; Ibajay, Aklan; and Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur.

There were 520,165 families or 2,026,246 persons that were affected in 4,219 barangays across 15 regions.

Of this, a total of 52,166 families or 204,631 persons were served inside 1,906 evacuation centers while 40,913 families or 147,209 persons stayed with other people's homes.

The death toll increased to 19: eight in Cagayan Valley, four in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), three each in Central Luzon (Region 3) and Masbate in Bicol (Region 5), and one in Eastern Visayas (Region 8).

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Asst. Sec. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said on Friday night that seven deaths in Eastern Visayas were also undergoing validation.