The estimated cost of damage to infrastructure by Tropical Storm “Crising” and enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) has reached P4 billion while damage to agriculture was pegged at P462 million, prompting the declaration of a state of calamity in 29 areas nationwide, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported Wednesday, July 23.

OCD Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Asst. Sec. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said 533,213 families or approximately 1.9 million individuals have been affected in Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Mimaropa (Region 4B), Bicol (Region 5), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9), Northern Mindanao (Region 10), Davao (Region 11), Soccsksargen (Region 12), Caraga (Region 13), Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), National Capital Region (NCR), and Negros Island Region (NIR).

Around 46,000 families were displaced, including 25,000 families who were temporarily staying in 732 evacuation centers nationwide.

Most of the damaged infrastructures were flood control projects, road networks, bridges, and government facilities in Region 1, with the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, and La Union bearing the brunt of Crising and habagat. Other regions that reported significant infra losses included Regions 2, 4B, 6, 10, and CAR.

Meanwhile, damage to agriculture affected 11,734 farmers and fisherfolk, and 7,646.38 hectares of rice, corn, cassava, high-value crops, as well as poultry and livestock in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 6, and NIR.

Alejandro said 29 areas have declared a state of calamity as government agencies ramp up humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) efforts. These included the entire province of Cavite with 23 cities and municipalities; Malabon City and Quezon City in NCR; Sebaste and Barbaza towns in Antique in Region 6; Umingan town in Pangasinan in Region 1; and Roxas town in Palawan in Region 4B.

The death toll from Crising and habagat also rose to seven: three in Region 10, and one each in Regions 4B, 11, 13, and NCR. There were also eight missing persons reported in Regions 4B, 6, and NCR; and seven injured individuals logged in Regions 1, 10, 12, and NCR.

The OCD is on Red Alert as two more weather disturbances, Tropical Cyclone “Dante” and Tropical Depression “Emong”, are threatening the country. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dante was located 900 km east of extreme northern Luzon while Emong was spotted 115 km west northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.

Alejandro said national agencies have mobilized search, rescue, and retrieval (SRR) personnel and key assets in anticipation of further impacts from Dante and Emong including: 15,000 personnel from the Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP); 26,000 from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP); and 5,000 from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Nearly three million family food packs have also been prepositioned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) while 10 emergency telecom teams, 28 helicopters and nine fixed-wing aircraft, 19 Philippine Navy vessels, 23 PCG ships and smaller rescue boats, 1,600 land vehicles from the AFP, 3,000 fire trucks from the BFP, and close to P30 million in standby health resources from the Department of Health (DOH) were prepared for nationwide HADR.

“Dahil nga tuloy-tuloy ang pag-uulan, mataas pa rin ang possibility na magkaroon ng landslides doon sa mga areas na identified as under high-risk, marami diyan sa Northern Luzon, sa Central Luzon and then even sa NCR (As heavy rains continue, there remains a high possibility of landslides in areas identified as high-risk, many of which are in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, and even in Metro Manila),” Alejandro said in a press briefing.

“We are trying our best to come up with really, paano ma-issue itong early warning natin at ang cooperation po ng ating mga LGUs [local government units] doon sa mga high-risk areas na magkaroon ng pre-emptive evacuation ay napakaimportante (We are trying our best to determine how to effectively issue our early warnings, and the cooperation of our LGUs in high-risk areas to carry out pre-emptive evacuation is very important),” he added.

Meanwhile, Alejandro said all nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites are ready for use as logistics hubs, command centers, or repacking stations for relief goods.

“These can be used multi-purpose. Pwedeng repacking station, pwedeng pang-command and control, pwedeng staging area ng mga response assets natin, both military and civilian. Of course, these areas can cater also to international assistance na papasok (It can be used as repacking stations, command and control centers, or staging areas for our response assets, both military and civilian. Of course, these areas can also cater to incoming international assistance),” he noted.

The nine EDCA locations are the Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Benito Ebuen Air Base in Mactan, Cebu; Lumbia Airfield in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental; Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac Island in southern Palawan.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the US Info-Pacific Command (Indopacom) as well as forces from other neighboring Southeast Asian countries were preparing to deploy personnel and assets to assist in the conduct of relief operations.

“We are expecting that anytime soon [they will arrive]. Of course, during times of calamity, time is of the essence so the faster the aid comes in, then it is better for all of us,” she said.