The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Wednesday reported that bad weather caused by Typhoon Jolina has so far affected 2,753 families or 12,213 individuals in four regions.
In its update, the NDRRMC said these individuals are from 65 villages in Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Eastern Visayas.
It added that 1,995 families or 8,600 individuals are being aided in 55 evacuation centers.
In a Laging Handa briefing, NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad reported that 12 fishermen were rescued off Sto. Nino, Samar, while another five are still missing.
“Meron pang pinaghahanap na limang mangingisda. Sila ay naabutan ng bagyo na nasa laot pa lamang [there are still search operations ongoing for the five missing fishermen. The typhoon caught while they were at sea],” he added.
So far, Jalad said no death or injury have so far been attributed to the typhoon.
Farm damage at initial P179.57M
The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said the damage caused by Typhoon Jolina to the agriculture sector has reached P179.57 million, affecting 52,609 hectares of farms with an estimated production loss of 8,855 metric tons.
The DA added that the values are still subject to validation and the figures were based on the initial assessment conducted by its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center. The latest DA report showed that about 61,828 farmers were affected by the typhoon damage.
The initial damage and losses reported by the DA were all recorded in the rice sector.
The DA said it has available assistance to affected farmers and fisherfolk that include a quick response fund for rehabilitation and provision of rice, corn and vegetable seeds. The DA added that drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry are also available.
Furthermore, affected Filipino farmers may avail of the Survival and Recovery Loan Program of Agricultural Credit Policy Council. The DA added that the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation has available funds to indemnify affected farmers.
270,000 Meralco customers affected
Around 270,000 customers of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) experienced power outage due to Severe Tropical Storm Jolina.
The utility firm said on Wednesday afternoon that outages occurred in the southern part of its franchise, affecting around 270,000 customers. Majority of these are from the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, and Cavite.
Earlier, around 500,000 customers were also affected by the automatic load dropping (ALD) when 730 megawatts (MW) of capacity from San Lorenzo, San Gabriel, and Avion natural gas power plants were isolated due to the tripping of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’s (NGCP) Batangas-Makban line. The ALD lasted for 11 minutes and all affected circuits were restored by 11:10 a.m.
Meralco Vice President for Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga said Meralco crews are working 24/7 to restore power at the soonest possible time.
The NGCP, meanwhile, reported that five transmission lines are unavailable as of Wednesday afternoon.
These are the Bay-Calamba 69kV line, Paranas-Borongan-Quinapondan 69kV line, Sta. Rita-Quinapondan 69kV line, Calbayog-Bliss 69kV line, and one 230kV line.
NGCP said it has mobilized its line crews and is currently conducting patrols to inspect and assess the impact of the severe tropical storm to its operations and facilities.
The Department of Energy has yet to release a report as of press time.
PNA, Jasper Arcalas and Lenie Lectura