35 killed, 10 missing due to flood and landslide incidents in RP

By Ronron
February 25, 2008

The death toll due to the series of flooding and landslide incidents in some parts of the Philippines rose to 35 while 10 remain missing as of Monday morning, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.

In its 6am report yesterday, the NDCC said the cost of damages to infrastructure and agriculture has also reached the P1 billion mark already, the biggest bulk of which come from Region 8 while the rest are from Regions 5, 6, 10 and 12.

The NDCC report said nine died in Region 5, one in Region 6, 18 in Region 8, and seven in Region 10. The 10 missing, meanwhile, come from Region 5 (six persons), Region 8 (three persons), and Region 10 (one person).

There were also 27 injured persons: three from Sorsogon in Region 5; 15 in Eastern Samar in Region 8; and nine from Lanao del Norte in Region 10.

The victims either drowned, electrocuted, or covered in landslides.

The flooding and landslide caused by a low pressure area and the persistence of the tail end of cold front, according to the NDCC, have already affected 124,473 families or 597,077 persons, of which, 12,755 families or 56,257 persons are in 143 evacuation centers.

This affected population comes from Regions IV-B, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12.

Some of them were left homeless after 1,959 houses from Regions 4-B, 5, 8 and 10 were totally damaged, and 3,398 others were partially destroyed by the calamity, said the NDCC.

The NDCC said the flooding and landslides have also caused the damage of at least P825 million worth of infrastructure and at least P263 million worth of fisheries, crops and palays in Regions 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12.

Because of the effects, Eastern Samar, Albay, Sigma town in Capiz and Magallanes town in Sorsogon were already placed under a State of Calamity so they could avail of the calamity fund, which is equivalent to five percent of their Internal Revenue Allocation.

So far, the following agencies have already extended their assistance to the affected populace: 1) NDCC, worth P1.574 million, and some 1,725 sacks of rice; 2) Department of Social Welfare and Development, worth P1.808 million; 3) Department of Health, worth P165,389.89; 4) local government units, worth P2.246 million; and, 5) non-governmental organizations, worth P338,462.00./DMS