THE death toll from tropical storm “Agaton” rose to 172 people while 110 others remained missing as of yesterday, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The NDRRMC said 156 died in Eastern Visayas — 155 in Leyte mostly due to landslides, and one in Samar due to drowning. Eleven died in Western Visayas — five in Leyte and six in Capiz, all due to drowning.
The five other deaths reported by NDRRMC were in the Davao region (two in Davao de Oro and one in Davao Oriental, all due to landslides) and two in Central Visayas (both in Cebu due to landslides).
Of the 155 deaths reported in Leyte, 101 died in Baybay City, 52 died in Abuyog town, and one each died in the towns of Inopacan and Villaba towns.
Only 12 of the reported 172 deaths have been validated so far while the rest are still subject to verification or validation process, the NDRRMC added.
As of Saturday night, the Baybay City government said it has accounted for 116 deaths, or 15 more than what the NDRRMC reported, while 75 were still missing in the city.
NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal said search, rescue and retrieval teams continue to exert efforts to account for the 110 missing individuals, mostly due to landslides in Leyte.
“Our colleagues on the ground did not stop, especially our search and rescue teams in the conduct of operations,” said Timbal, adding 300 workers are involved in the continuing efforts, mostly in Baybay and Abuyog.
He said local government officials, disaster managers and experts are set to conduct a study to determine if it is still ideal to build houses in the areas hit by the landslides in Leyte to replace those that were buried.
Timbal said the same group will also identify areas where those affected can be relocated. He said relocation sites should be near work centers, and electricity and water services should be available.
The NDRRMC said Agaton affected 583,994 families or some 2.01 million individuals in Bicol region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, Caraga and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM).
Of the number, 58,492 families or 207,572 individuals are still housed in 909 evacuation centers. It said 110,741 families or 188,348 individuals are still displaced but are staying with relatives and friends.
It said 10,393 houses were either destroyed or damaged by Agaton in eight affected regions.
The NDRRMC also said the cost of damage to agriculture was placed initially at P249.8 million in Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao and BARMM while damage to infrastructure in Western Visayas was pegged at P6.9 million.
The figure is expected to rise as the NDRRMC said damage assessments were still continuing as of yesterday.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DSWD-DROMIC) said more than 87,000 families or more than 300,000 people displaced by Agaton continued to stay in evacuation centers or with their friends and relatives in seven regions.
The agency said as of 6 p.m. of April 16, 47,306 families or 175,569 persons were staying in 820 evacuation centers in Regions V (Bicol), VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), VIII (Eastern Visayas), IX (Zamboanga Peninsula), X (Western Mindanao), and Caraga while 40,594 families or 136,228 persons were temporarily staying with their relatives and/or friends in Regions VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI (Davao Region), and Caraga.
It said a total of P48.812 million worth of assistance has been provided to affected families, including P34.96 million from the DSWD, P12.9 million from the local government units (LGUs), and P922,856.00 from private groups.
DSWD also said that 10,192 houses were damaged in Regions V (Bicol), VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), VIII (Eastern Visayas), X (Western Mindanao), XI (Davao) and Caraga. DSWD has an Emergency Shelter Assistance where it provides at least P10,000 financial aid to those whose houses were damaged during calamities.
President Duterte, in his visit to Capiz on Saturday, promised to give the provinces affected by Agaton at least P5 million each as additional aid, especially for the repair of the houses that were damaged.
The President spent Good Friday and Black Saturday visiting communities affected by Agaton in Leyte and Capiz where he distributed relief aid.
Duterte also conducted an aerial inspection of areas affected by Agaton to see the extent of the damage. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
