Widespread flooding due to heavy rainfall brought by the trough of a low pressure area (LPA), shear line, and northeast monsoon (amihan) since Jan. 2 has already dealt P308 million worth of damage to the country’s agriculture and infrastructure.
As of Thursday, Jan. 12, data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed the cost of damage to agriculture was pegged at P142,327,192 while infrastructure loss was estimated at PP165,745,496.
The death toll remained at 10: five were recorded in Bicol (Region 5), four in Northern Mindanao (Region 10), and one in Davao Region (Region 10). This is separate from the 52 fatalities listed by the NDRRMC due to the Christmas rains last month.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also reported two fatalities in Samar which have yet to be validated by the NDRRMC.
Two persons were also missing while four others were injured as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) continued the evacuation and search and rescue (SAR) of the affected residents.
A total of 106,951 families or 438,622 individuals were also affected by the bad weather in Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Mimaropa (Region 4B), Bicol Region (Region 5), Western Visayas (Region 6), Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9), Northern Mindanao (Region 10), Davao Region (Region 11), and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Of those affected, a total of 2,144 families or 8,153 individuals were staying in evacuation centers.
“If we will be counting on the affected families, the most affected Region 3, 8, Mimaropa, and Region 11,” said Diego Agustin Mariano, head of joint information center of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
The number of affected families was highest in Central Luzon with 30,000; followed by Mimaropa with 24,000; Davao Region with 17,000; and Eastern Visayas with 13,000.