Damage to the agriculture sector of Tropical Depression Agaton has reached P718 million, according to latest data from the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center.
The DA attached agency said as of 3 p.m. Saturday, Agaton’s total cost of damage is equivalent to 41,580 metric tons of goods tended by 12,151 farmers and fishers in 17,925 hectares of affected areas.
The current monitoring captured data from Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen and Caraga, with additional damage and losses still expected to be recorded, the DA added.
Bulk of Agaton’s recorded damage is from rice at P672.2 million, followed by high value crops at P24.7 million, corn at P21.1 million as well as livestock and poultry at P48,100.
The DA said among available assistance to farmers and fishers affected will be quick response funds, seeds, insurance, animal drugs and biologics, but it did not mention the amount.
Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said it has been conducting restoration works in accessible sites for the four steel towers damaged by Agaton in Leyte, as of last Wednesday.
NGCP said the towers are components of the Ormoc-Maasin 138 kilovolt line which were affected by a landslide in the area.
The company deployed 13 line gangs or over 100 line personnel to conduct clearing and simultaneous restoration works in three tower sites, while one tower site remains inaccessible due to continued rains and unstable terrain.
NGCP will also install emergency restoration systems to temporarily restore the isolated line and transmit any and all available power to the province of Bohol.
NGCP is targeting the temporary restoration of the said line by today, April 18, depending on the weather situation. – Jed Macapagal
