The number of people who died due to Severe Tropical Storm (STS) “Enteng” increased to 15 on Wednesday, Sept. 4, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
In a situation briefing presided by President Marcos Jr. at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, OCD Operations Service Director Cesar Idio said that the deadliest province for Enteng is Rizal where authorities recorded eight deaths due to drowning and landslide.
Two deaths apiece were also logged in Cebu City, Northern Samar, and Naga City due to rain-induced landslides, collapsed riprap, electrocution and drowning; while one fatality was noted in Negros Occidental due to drowning.
Aside from this, Idio said 21 persons were also missing including 15 fishermen in Camarines Norte, three in Samar, two in Northern Samar due to a flashflood, and one in Biliran.
Fifteen persons were also injured in Cebu City, Northern Samar, and Naga.
“But these are still subject for validation, Mr. President,” Idio said.
Idio said the local government in Bicol (Region 5) requested for air support from the military to aid in search and rescue efforts for their missing fishermen.
"They have requested air assets because of the three boats that were reported [to have] sunk in Mercedes, [Camarines Norte] and they [fishermen] are still reported missing," he explained.
The official further stated that two areas were declared under a state of calamity due to the effects of Enteng: Naga City, Camarines Sur and Allen, Northern Samar.
The declaration of state of calamity will enable the local government of Naga to access its quick response fund (QRF) to allow the procurement of necessary food and non-food items for the typhoon victims, as well as materials for rehabilitation of damaged houses.
1.7M people affected
A total of 1,720,568 individuals (442,804) families were affected by Enteng in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Bicol (Region 5), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), and Eastern Visayas (Region 8).
“Most affected regions are as follows: Region 5 with 267,073 affected families, followed by Region 3 (86,765 families) and then Region 8 (38,327 families) and fourth is NCR (17,975 families). The rest, the other regions have suffered less effects of the typhoon and southwest monsoon,” Idio shared.
The rains and floods forced 88,077 individuals (21,681 families) to flee their homes and stay in evacuation centers while 18,757 individuals (6,348) were being served outside evacuation centers.
Authorities recorded 121 flooded cities/municipalities and 14 landslides.
Agri, infra damage
Enteng also caused P350.85 million worth of damage to the agriculture sector, affecting 13,623 farmers and recording a volume of production loss at 14.814 metric tons and 8,893 hectares of agricultural areas of rice, corn and high-value crops.
Meanwhile, damage to infrastructure was placed at P200,000 while 589 houses were either partially damaged or completely destroyed in Regions 3, 5, 6, and 7.
The storm also paralyzed some local governments as 39 out of 79 road sections were rendered not passable in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and CAR while 16 out of 19 bridges were not passable in Regions 1, 2, 3, and 5 due to flooding and damage.
Meanwhile, a total of P33 million worth of food and non-food items have been distributed to the typhoon victims.