Agri damage due to floods, landslides hit P1B — NDRRMC

The NDRRMC estimated the cost of the damage to agriculture at P1,012,846,053.52, affecting 19,071 farmers and fishermen and 25,010.152 hectares of crops

The latest report by the national Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed that the agriculture sector suffered more than P1 billion in losses due to the floods and landslides in Mindanao.

The NDRRMC estimated the cost of the damage to agriculture at P1,012,846,053.52, affecting 19,071 farmers and fishermen and 25,010.152 hectares of crops.

The damage to livestock, poultry, and fisheries was estimated at P7,453,942.

Infrastructure incurred the most damage, amounting to P1,198,653,314, on 216 roads, bridges, buildings, and other infrastructure.

Some 1,762 houses were damaged, 1,011 of them partially destroyed.

There were 415 flooded areas recorded.

The number of fatalities stood at 22, with 11 injured and two still missing.

A total of 59,310 persons were preemptively evacuated from the Davao and Caraga regions.

The NDRRMC said the number of affected families reached 47,819, or 1,567,339 individuals.

It added that 4,147 families, or 15,407 persons, are currently taking shelter in 64 evacuation centers from the two Mindanao regions.

Meanwhile, over P257 million has been provided to the affected population.

Five areas were declared to be in a state of calamity: Davao de Oro, Agusan del sur, surigao del sur, Butuan City and Agusan del norte.

Heavy rains and floods have pounded the Mindanao region in the past weeks due to the combined effects of the northeast monsoon and the trough of a low pressure area.

At 7:40 p.m. on 6 February, a rain-induced landslide hit the gold mining site at Barangay Masara in the town of Maco, Davao de Oro, burying houses, a barangay hall, and vehicles carrying passengers.

The latest update on Wednesday on the landslide had 93 confirmed deaths, of whom 79 were identified, and 14 were unidentified.

leah Añora of the Maco Management of the Dead and Missing Cluster clarified in a media briefing that the previous tally of 98 recovered bodies also comprised retrieved body parts.