Damage to properties caused by Tropical Storm Mario has already reached more than P1 billion, although officials expects the figure to rise as assessments in other areas that were affected are still coming in.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) also reported on Tuesday that at least 67 roads and six bridges are still flooded, five days after the storm hit Luzon.
Reports from the Office of Civil Defense 1 and 3 showed that some P1.16 billion worth of agriculture and infrastructure projects have been damaged in the Ilocos region and in the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan.
The report does not include the other provinces affected, like Isabela, Cagayan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Camarines Sur and other provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Once assessments are completed in other affected areas, the NDRRMC expects that the damage would further increase, as Isabela and Cagayan were likewise severely affected by flooding.
Several towns in Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao and in Southern Luzon and CAR were still experiencing power outages due to damaged power lines.
The NDRRMC said the number of affected families has also swelled to
258,976, or 1,160,050 persons in 1,126 barangays in 27 provinces in Luzon.
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II visited Benguet and Ilocos Norte on Monday to personally assess the damage wrought by Typhoon Luis (international code name Kalmaegi) . Roxas, vice chairman of the NDRRMC, also met with local and police officials of the two provinces. He was briefed on the ongoing rehabilitation works. In Ilocos Norte at least 177 houses were damaged, while several hectares of riceland were also inundated by floodwaters.
Roxas said the Department of Agriculture will distribute seeds so the farmers can pursue their production goals for December and January. Also, the Department of Social Welfare and Development will provide food, as well as initiate the cash-for-work program in affected areas while farmers are waiting for the next harvest season. With Kazim Hamsha Nocedo
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza, Roy Domingo
