Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, CAR worst hit areas
SUPER typhoon “Egay” left over P2 billion in damage to infrastructure and agriculture, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday.
The NDRRMC also said there were 14 fatalities, 13 injured and 20 remained missing. The Office of Civil Defense had higher figures — 15 dead and over 50 injured. Its number of missing persons was the same as that of the NDRRMC.
Egay exited the Philippine area of responsibility on Thursday last week as another weather disturbance, “Falcon,” intensified into a tropical depression.
Falcon, now a severe tropical storm, is not directly affecting the country but is enhancing the southwest monsoon which will continue to bring rains to some parts of Luzon and the Visayas in the next three days, including Metro Manila.
Falcon was in the area of extreme northern Luzon yesterday but remained unlikely to make landfall. It is projected to exit today or tomorrow, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
PAGASA also said water level at Angat Dam, the main source of Metro Manila’s water needs, was up at 193.84 meters, thanks to Egay and the southwest monsoon it enhanced.
The level 13.78 meters above the dam’s 180.06 minimum operating level.
The NDRRMC, in a report, said damage to infrastructure was placed at P1.19 billion in five regions alone — Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Bicol, and Western Visayas.
It said more than half of the damage was reported in Ilocos Sur, at P643.51 million to infrastructure as of yesterday.
The Department of Agriculture reported P1.54 billion in initial cost of damage to the agriculture sector.
The NDRRMC said damage to infrastructure was also reported in Davao, Soccsksargen and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) but it did not give an estimate.
The NDRRMC said damage to agriculture in Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Western Visayas and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was at P833.88 million.
Cagayan Valley registered P774.24 million in damage to agriculture, of which P419.58 million was in the province of Cagayan.
Ariel Nepomuceno, NDRRMC executive director and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) administrator, said in a radio interview that overall damage to agriculture was almost P1.2 billion.
He said the figure may increase as field personnel were still gathering information about damage incurred, while assisting people affected by Egay.
Citing initial assessment, Nepomuceno said the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and CAR were the worst hit areas.
AGRI SECTOR
The Department of Agriculture’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center said total cost of damage from Egay as of noon yesterday was equivalent to 66,075 metric tons of goods tended by 99,272 farmers in 110,086 hectares of affected areas.
It also said rice, corn, high value crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries were affected in the CAR, locos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas and Caraga.
Bulk of the recorded damage was from rice at P654.6 million followed by corn at P652.2 million, high value crops at P190.6 million, agricultural infrastructures at P20.8 million, fisheries at P14.1 million and livestock and poultry at P12.1 million.
The DA also said among forms of assistance available for distribution to affected farmers and fishers are 111,873 bags of rice seeds, 24,426 bags of corn seeds and 2,582 kilograms of assorted vegetable seeds.
Drugs and biologics are also available for livestock and poultry, and fingerlings assistance to fisherfolk from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
AFFECTED FAMILIES
The NDRRMC said 172,293 families or 608,979 individuals were affected by Egay in 13 regions — Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, BARMM, CAR, and National Capital Region or Metro Manila.
But Nepomuceno said the affected population was already at around 260,000 families or around 921,000 individuals.
Of the affected population, NDRRMC said 24,999 families (86,085 individuals) have been displaced, though the number was down to 4,899 families or 17,666 individuals as of yesterday.
The NDRRMC also said 9,248 houses were “partially” and “totally” damaged by Egay in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and CAR.
Most of these damaged houses were in Cagayan Valley (7,496) and Western Visayas (1,507), the NDRRMC said.
The Office of Civil Defense-Ilocos said many areas in the region remained flooded yesterday but floodwaters are receding.
Nepomuceno said some areas in Central Luzon are still flooded, including in Olongapo City in Zambales.
Several local government units have declared a state of calamity, including Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Abra.
PCG PERSONNEL
The NDRRMC said its reported 20 missing persons does not include four Philippine Coast Guard personnel who have been accounted for on Saturday morning after being reported missing in Cagayan last Wednesday.
The PCG personnel were on the way to assist crew members of a distressed tugboat when their aluminum boat capsized.
“The good news is that they were found yesterday, they are alive,” said Nepomuceno said of the four PCG men.
FALCON
Falcon intensified into a tropical depression, from low pressure area, last Thursday, and then to a tropical storm last Friday. It entered PAR last Saturday.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Falcon was some 1,170 km east of extreme northern Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 110 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 135 kph. It was moving northward at 20 kph.
Weather specialist Aldczar Aurelio said Falcon is unlikely to make landfall.
Falcon is forecast to move north northwestward before turning northwestward today.
“On the track forecast, the tropical storm may exit the Philippine area of responsibility tomorrow (Monday) evening or on Tuesday early morning,” said PAGASA in a bulletin issued at 5 p.m. yesterday.
“Outside the PAR region, Falcon will turn west northwestward and pass close to Okinawa Islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago on Tuesday morning before entering the East China Sea,” PAGASA added.
AID
Government has so far distributed P45 million in cash aid to four provinces affected by Egay: P20 million to Abra, P10 million each to Benguet and Mountain Province, and P5 million to Kalinga.
President Marcos Jr and Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo on Saturday handed over checks to Governors Dominic Valera of Abra, Melchor Diclas of Benguet Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr. of Mountain Province and James Edubba of Kalinga, when Marcos Jr. visited Cagayan.
The President said he is satisfied with the government’s response to the devastation caused by the typhoon as he vowed to continue providing aid to those affected particularly food, potable water, medicine, and shelter assistance.
Marcos on Saturday presided over a series of briefings in Bangued in Abra, Laoag City in Ilocos Norte, and Tuguegarao City in Cagayan, during which he received initial reports on the effects of Egay in Northern Luzon. He also conducted aerial inspections of the affected areas in Abra and Ilocos Norte.
The President said one of the biggest concerns is restoring the supply of electricity in the region, particularly in Ilocos Norte, his home province, where the powerline was extensively damaged.
Restoring power will take time because linemen have to meticulously repair the entire system before power supply could be switched on, the President said, adding that the country has to get used to the new weather pattern because of the obvious effects of climate change.
Marcos also said government responders are working to reach isolated areas to bring food and basic necessities, using all means to provide assistance to far-flung communities, adding that the good thing is that the government was able to preposition food packs in critical areas before the typhoon struck.
At the House, Speaker Martin Romualdez facilitated the release of P287 million in cash assistance, relief goods, generators, and financial aid from the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program. A huge part of the cash assistance and relief goods came from the Speaker’s personal funds.
On Friday, Romualdez travelled to Baguio City to join officials in distributing aid to residents of the city and Benguet province. Since then, additional distressed households in Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Cagayan, Apayao, Pangasinan, Pampanga, and Malolos City in Bulacan have been helped. — With Jed Macapagal and Wendell Vigilia
