Zero casualty for Lawin in Ilocos

VIGAN CITY – The Ilocos region attained zero casualty during Typhoon Lawin, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has reported.

Melchito Castro, OCD-Region 1 chief and regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ( DRRMC) chairman, lauded the efforts of local government officials as well as the cooperation and support of the residents in preparing for the typhoon.

Signal number 5 was raised in Ilocos Norte, Number 4 in Ilocos Sur and Number 3 in La Union.

“The reported deaths… are still subject to validation and investigation whether they were typhoon-related,” Castro said yesterday.

A reported death in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte was nottyphoon related, officials said.

Ilocos Norte was placed under a state of calamity on Friday. The provincial DRRMC said damage to agriculture and infrastructure was placed at P673 million.

A state of calamity was also declared in Ilocos Sur yesterday. Damage to infrastructure was estimated at P324 million and P313 million to agriculture.

Meanwhile, the entire province of Abra is still without power due to electric posts felled by Lawin.

Power may be restored in Bangued tomorrow while the rest of the province may have to wait for a few more days, said Loreto Seares Jr., Abra Electric Cooperative (Abreco) general manager.

Seares said losses incurred by Abreco due to the typhoon reached P60 million.