Infra, agri damage from quake hits P1.5 B

Damage to infrastructure due to the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that shook Northern Luzon last week has reached P1.261 billion.

The agriculture sector, on the other hand, reported an initial damage of P269.1 million.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Ilocos incurred the biggest damage to infrastructure at P651.5 million followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) at P577.5 million and Cagayan Valley, P32 million.

The National Irrigation Administration said damage to its facilities in Ilocos and the Cordilleras was placed at P22.7 million.

The Department of Agriculture (DA)Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center said 63 agricultural facilities in the Cordilleras were damaged due to erosion and cracks on concrete structures.

Damage to crops, including production loss, reached P19.7 million in the Cordilleras alone.

The DA said it would provide 126,045 bags of rice seeds, 20,454 bags of corn seeds and 3,379 kilos of vegetable seeds to farmers and fishermen in CAR, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon.

The department said it would also deliver 1,000 doses of vitamins, 1,000 doses of antibiotics, 500 doses of dewormers and 3,000 doses of vaccines for livestock and poultry in Cagayan Valley.

The DA said it is fast-tracking the release of fuel subsidy and financial assistance to rice farmers in the affected regions.

Meanwhile, the number of persons injured during the quake has increased to 410. The affected families rose to 109,009 or 421,728 residents of 1,133 barangays.

The NDRRMC said the number of families in evacuation centers dropped to 801 yesterday from 989 on Tuesday.