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'Kiko'-affected residents swell to 23K but zero casualty so far -- NDRRMC
'Kiko'-affected residents swell to 23K but zero casualty so far -- NDRRMC
The number of Filipinos affected by typhoon "Kiko" more than doubled to 23,000 on Monday, September 13, but the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said no casualty has been recorded so far.
NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad said in a situational report that 6,315 families or 23,702 individuals were affected by Kiko in Ilocos Region (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), and Cordillera Administrative region (CAR).
Of those affected, 1,789 individuals were staying at evacuation centers while 2,094 others sought refuge with their relatives or friends.
But the positive news was that no record of casualty has been reported to the NDRRMC so far.
"So far, wala pa pong major untoward incident na nangyari (So far, we haven't received any report about a major untoward incident)," said NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal in a radio interview over DWIZ.
"Ang nabalitaan po natin sa Batanes, noong dumaan ang mata ng bagyo ay marami ang nilipad na bubong, nagtumbahang poste at puno kaya may ilang kababayan na nainjure because of that. But so far, wala pa po tayong official na report tungkol dito (What we heard is that when the eye of the storm passed through Batanes, many roofs were blown off, posts and trees were toppled so some residents were injured because of that. But so far, we have no official report about it)," he added.
Power supply was cut in four areas in Batanes due to the typhoon. These were located in Sabtang Island, Ivana, Itbayat, and Uyugan towns.
Water supply was also affected in one area in Sabtang Island after the typhoon damaged water pipelines and accesories.
Communication lines in six areas in Sabtang, Ivana, and Itbayat were also interrupted due to damaged towers.
"Nagkaroon ng power interruption dyan sa northern Luzon dahil sa bagyo at kasama na ang water interruption at mobile telecommunications. Pero noong lumipas po ang bagyo, mukhang nagawan naman ng paraan para marestore kaagad (There was power and water interruption as well as affected mobile telecommunications in northern Luzon because of the typhoon. But when the storm passed, it appears it was all restored immediately)," Timbal said.
Evacuees have also started going back to their homes to clean the roads of obstructions and mud, Timbal noted.