THE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) yesterday reported three more deaths related to tropical storm “Agaton,” bringing to 178 its official death toll.
But the number of fatalities from Agaton may surpass 200, based on accounts of local officials.
The NDRRMC said the three additional deaths were recorded in Capiz, raising the total number of fatalities in the province to 12. The agency said all were victims of drowning.
The 166 other fatalities recorded by the NDRRMC were 155 in Leyte, six in Iloilo, two each in Cebu and Davao de Oro, and one in Samar.
Mayor Carlos Cari of Baybay City in Leyte yesterday said there were 123 fatalities in the city as of Tuesday afternoon, or 22 more than the 101 reported by the NDRRMC.
Lord Byron Torrecarion, director of the Office of Civil Defense-Eastern Visayas, on Tuesday said 56 died in landslides in Abuyog town in Leyte, four more than the 52 reported by the NDRRMC.
The Capiz provincial disaster risk reduction and management office reported 19 deaths, or six more than the 12 reported by the NDRRMC.
The NDRRMC said 111 individuals remained missing, 104 of them in Leyte. Torrecarion on Tuesday said 179 were missing from the landslides in Baybay City and Abuyog alone.
The NDRRMC said the number of affected people in the Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Soccsksargen, and Caraga regions and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is now at 600,062 families or 2,081,353 individuals, from 599,616 families or 2,079,375 individuals last Tuesday.
The NDRRMC said the number of displaced population staying in evacuation centers decreased to 29,978 families or 109,721 individuals, from 40,764 families or 149,466 individuals last Tuesday.
It also said 79,712 displaced families or 66,289 individuals are staying with relatives or friends, down from 101,475 families or 158,073 individuals last Tuesday.
The cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure remained at P257.02 million and P6.95 million.
