THE death toll attributed to tropical cyclones Pepito, Ofel, and Nika has risen to seven with 30 others injured, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Tuesday.
In its latest situation report on the combined effects of Pepito, Ofel, and Nika, the agency said that 495,788 families, or an estimated 1.8 million persons living in 4,974 barangays in 403 cities and towns in 34 provinces were affected.
In the aftermath of Pepito, which developed into a super typhoon before hitting Aurora at peak intensity on Sunday, 20 cities and towns declared a state of calamity.
Including the effects of Typhoons Kristine, Leon, and Marce, the number of affected persons could easily breach the 10 million mark, with 162 persons killed by floods, landslides, or pinned by fallen trees and electric posts.
Floods, landslides
OFEL, Nika, and Pepito came in successively, battering Southern Luzon and Northern Luzon alternately with violent winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges over the last 3 weeks, triggering floods and landslides, particularly in the southern and northern provinces.
According to the NDRRMC, 719,5987 persons from the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Bicol and Metro Manila, were pre-emptively evacuated.
A total of 617,336 people were displaced by the tropical cyclones, and most of them have been evacuated and are currently staying in 3,176 evacuation centers.
The heavy rainfall induced by the tropical cyclones flooded a total of 218 areas in Regions 1, 2, 3, and Region 5, the NDRRM reported.
P50 million government assistance for Catanduanes
PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. on Tuesday led the distribution of more than P50 million worth of government assistance to communities in Catanduanes after the onslaught of Super Typhoon Pepito (international name Man-yi).
During the ceremony at the Virac Sports Complex, Marcos handed over a check amounting to P50 million in cash assistance from the Office of the President to the provincial government of Catanduanes.
Likewise, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided food packs to the typhoon victims worth more than P600,000 and cash aid worth P2.5 million.
In his speech, Marcos assured the evacuees of continued supply of family food packs.
“Lahat po ng nasa evacuation center na hindi pa makauwi ay bibibigyan po namin hangga’t kailangan niyo. Walang deadline po ito. Hangga’t kailangan ninyo na magkaroon pa ng food pack, magpapadala pa rin kami ng patuloy na magpadala ng food packs [We’re giving food packs to everyone in the evacuation center who could not go home yet, for as long as you need it. It has no limit. So long as you need more food packs, we will continue to send food packs],” he said.
Aside from relief goods, hygiene and medical kits are also being given, the Chief Executive said.
Houses, public infrastructure damaged
AS of Tuesday, the NDRRMC received reports that 11,759 houses and 54 infrastructure, including roads, government facilities, and flood control, were damaged.
The estimated cost of damaged infrastructure is P469,847,274.
Because of the inclement weather, 20 cities and towns were declared to be under a state of calamity.
The NDRRMC said more than half or 51 percent, of the total 322 road sections and 101 bridges affected by the storm are now passable to all vehicles. Sections were affected.
Meanwhile, 59 percent or 52 out of 88 affected seaports have been restored.
Airports have also resumed normal operation.
NEA: Electric coops sustain P40-M damage
THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) reported on Tuesday that 27 electric cooperatives (ECs) sustained over P40 million worth of damage to their power infrastructure owing to four major storms that hit the country this month.
Initial damage cost due to typhoons Marce (Yinxing), Nika (Toraji), Ofel (Usagi), and Pepito (Man-Yi) reached P40,675,916.70.
Data released by the NEA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (DRRMD) as of November 18 placed at least 27 ECs operating in 21 provinces from seven regions under close and continuous monitoring in the wake of the consecutive tropical cyclones.
According to the NEA-DRRMD, Aurora Electric Cooperative, Inc.; First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative , Inc.; Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative, Inc; and Quirino Electric Cooperative, Inc. underwent a temporary shutdown of their operations.
NEA said the restoration efforts continue in 22 ECs,. So far, 314 out of 376 municipalities covered by the affected ECs are either fully or partially energized.
Defying ‘disaster fatigue’
THE Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reassured the public that disaster managers and responders will continue with their duties despite the so-called “typhoon fatigue” caused by the series of consecutive typhoons that struck the country in the past few weeks.
The OCD administrator, Defense Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, said that this issue is being addressed by rotating fatigued and now ailing responders from disaster response personnel who are still relatively fresh.
Assistant Secretary Cesar Idio, OCD deputy administrator for operations, meanwhile, said that the issue is being offset by the cooperation among various agencies.
“The beauty of it, however, is that you can see the cooperation of the various government agencies. They are the ones providing augmentation personnel. And our leaders—you can see our President, our Secretary of National Defense, and our Civil Defense Administrator—they are always there, inspiring our responders and managers to continue doing their jobs,” he added.
Team Albay rises anew
Team, the humanitarian and disaster relief mission, has once again reassembled to help Catanduanes towns tnat were critically affected by Super Typhoon Pepito, a leader of the House of Representatives said on Tuesday.
Albay Rep. Jose Clemente “Joey” Sarte Salceda said medical teams, relief supplies, psychosocial support, and other essential services are now ready to deploy to the hard-hit towns of Pandan, Panganiban, Gigmoto, Caramoran, Bagamanoc, and Viga.
Team Albay initiative was launched by Salceda when he was the governor in 2007. It was the first mission to arrive on the scene in Tacloban in the aftermath of Yolanda in 2013.
Team Albay was awarded the Galing Pook award in 2015 for its humanitarian missions and disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts.
This time, Salceda said the Team Albay mission to Catanduanes is being spearheaded by Team Albay Youth Organizations (Tayo), a network of youth groups and volunteers mobilized for various socio-civic activities and programs.
“Spared by Typhoon Pepito, the people of Albay, through Team Albay, will help Catanduanes. Despite being in recovery mode…no, because we are in recovery mode, we know what they are going through. Catanduanes is the sentinel of the Bicol Region. It defends us from the worst impacts of typhoons. We have an obligation to help,” Salceda said.
Meanwhile, League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Albay Chapter president Raymond Adrian Salceda is also conferring with Albay mayors to see what support they can provide.
“We are looking at deploying vehicles and perhaps water supply support to affected towns,” said the mayor. With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz, Lenie Lectura, Sam Medenilla, Rex Anthony Naval and PNA
Image credits: Philippine Red Cross via AP
