NDRRMC: 2.14 M Filipinos fall victim to ‘Ompong’
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRDMC) said on Sunday that the total number of families affected by typhoon “Ompong” has further risen to half a million families more than a week after the most powerful weather disturbance struck the country.
NDRRMC Executive Director and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Ricardo B. Jalad, said that based on their latest update released at 6 a.m. Sunday, a total of 508,076 families or 2,140,442 persons from 4,817 barangays in Regions 1, 2, 3, CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), National Capital Region (NCR) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), were affected by Ompong.
Of the total, 13,587 families or 56,917 persons are being served inside and outside evacuation centers.
Jalad said a total of 23 people have already been confirmed killed, 134 injured and two missing in Regions 1, 2, 3, VI, CAR and NCR.
The official also disclosed that a total of 43 incidents (landslides, flooding, road slip, land subsidence, and vehicular accident) were also monitored in Regions MIMAROPA, 5, 6, and CAR.
Jalad said damage to agriculture and infrastructure in five regions of the country (1, 2, 3, CALABARZON, CAR) has now reached R17, 917,847,631.02.
Of the number, the damage to agriculture has already reached R14, 339,237,631.02 while for infrastructure it has reached R3,632,610,000.00. About 171,932 farmers were also affected.
Red Cross aid Meanwhile, galvanized iron sheets and other roofing materials were distributed by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to hundreds of typhoon-ravaged families in Cagayan Valley yesterday.
The PRC said a total of 233 families from Barangay Bitag Grande and 160 families from Barangay Mocag in Baggao Municipality will now be able to fix their houses after being given galvanized iron sheets and other materials such as nails, sealant, hammer, and hand saw.
PRC Chairman Richard Gordon led the distributions at San Vicente Elementary School in Gattaran and at Bitag Grande Elementary School in Baggao. (With a report from Jel Santos)