Storm’s damage to infra: P2.66b

Abra, Mt. Province in calamity state too; Death toll now 13, agri losses at P512m

The provinces of Abra and Mountain Province were placed under a state of calamity on Friday after the onslaught of Typhoon “Egay,” which ravaged many parts of northern Luzon, killing 13 people and displacing half a million residents across 12 regions.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Friday Egay has caused an estimated P2.66 billion worth of damage to road infrastructure.

In an advisory, the DPWH said the amount is comprised of P887.1 million in damage to roads, P48.20 million in damage to bridges, and P1.73 billion in flood-control structures.

The department also said it reopened a total of 25 roads that were closed due to Egay. However, 21 are still impassable due to soil collapse, eroded carriageways, damaged bridges, landslides, and flooding.

The provincial boards of Abra and Mountain Province both approved the recommendation of their respective disaster councils to declare a state of calamity to speed up relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur provinces and Dagupan City in Pangasinan had earlier declared a state of calamity due to Egay.

Damage to infrastructure was estimated at P656.3 million in Ilocos, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Davao region, Soccsksargen and BARMM, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

The Department of Agriculture said the value of production lost due to Egay had gone up to P512.9 million, up from the previous tally of P62 million.

The amount reflects a volume of production loss of 19,488 metric tons, affecting 58,104 hectares of agricultural land and 51,926 farmers, the department said.

Affected commodities include rice, corn, high value crops, livestock and poultry.

Damage to agriculture was placed at P58.3 million in Western Visayas and the Cordillera regions alone, the DA added.

Mountain Province’s disaster office said Egay left an estimated P350 million worth of damage in 10 towns.

One casualty was recorded in Bontoc, while two were injured in Bauko and Tadian towns.

Around 179 families or 542 individuals were affected by the typhoon in Mountain Province, the local government said.

Super typhoon Egay has so far killed 13 people, eight more than the initial tally on Thursday, the country’s state disaster risk reduction and monitoring agency said yesterday.

The DA said assistance to farmers and fishers includes rice, corn, and assorted vegetable seeds, drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry, and fingerlings to affected fishers.

In its latest bulletin, the NDRRMC said six deaths have been validated – five in the Cordillera region and one in Western Visayas.

Still undergoing verification are seven deaths – four in Cordillera and one each in the Ilocos region, Calabarzon, and Western Visayas.

In the same update, the NDRRMC said it is still validating reports of 12 injured – eight in the Davao region, two in Western Visayas, and one each in Calabarzon and Ilocos.

Also undergoing confirmation are reports of 20 missing persons – 11 in Cagayan Valley and nine in Cordillera.

The NDRRMC reported that 140,923 families, equivalent to 502,782 persons residing in 1,612 barangays in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and Cordillera have been affected by the bad weather.

Some 8,890 families or 29,223 persons were taking shelter in 479 evacuation centers while another 3,851 families, equivalent to 13,608 individuals staying outside evacuation centers, were also being aided.

The Office of Civil Defense earlier said the affected families are a combination of those displaced and those who do not need evacuation but whose livelihoods have been affected.

A total of 2,002 houses were reported damaged in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, BARMM, and Cordillera.

The state weather bureau said Egay dumped more than a month’s rain in its two Ilocos stations.

The two stations of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) are located in Laoag City in Ilocos Norte and Sinait town in Ilocos Sur.

In 48 hours, between 8:00 a.m. Tuesday and 8:00 a.m. Thursday, Laoag City recorded 620 millimeters of rain, more than the station’s average July rainfall of 478.9 millimeters.

Sinait station, meanwhile, registered 578.1 mm of rain, also more than its monthly normal of 529.8 millimeters for July.

Baguio City, located on the western slope of the Cordillera mountain range at a 1,500-meter elevation, logged 589.4 millimeters of rain in two days, equivalent to three weeks of rain in July.

Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, Egay also dumped almost a month’s worth of rain in Aparri, Cagayan at 194 millimeters.

Several towns in northwestern mainland Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Abra, and Ilocos Sur experienced widespread flooding, while Mountain Province and Benguet were hit by multiple landslides.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez delivered relief and financial assistance to residents of Baguio City and Benguet on Friday.

Fundraising efforts initiated by Romualdez and Tingog Party-list led by Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre have already reached P218.85 million in relief goods and financial assistance as of Friday afternoon.

Despite the bad weather, Romualdez said he traveled to Baguio to heed the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for officials to ensure that aid reaches typhoon-stricken communities.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CEB) have canceled 10 local and international flights on Friday, citing the effects of typhoon Egay.

In an advisory, PAL said the canceled flights are PR 2196/2197 and PR 2198/2199 Manila-Laoag-Manila; PR 330/331 Manila-Xiamen-Manila; and PR 356/357 Manila-Jinjiang-Manila.

Affected passengers may reroute their flights, subject to available space within 60 days.

Cebu Pacific on Thursday announced that due to Egay’s impact on the Laoag International Airport, flights 5J 404 and 5J 405 between Manila and Laoag scheduled on July 28 and 29 have been canceled.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) earlier said the Laoag International Airport temporarily halted operations due to damage done to the airport’s ceiling and doors.

As of Thursday, the airport was still closed.

Affected CEB passengers may rebook their tickets without fare difference up to 30 days from the original flight date.

They may also refund or store the amount in a virtual CEB wallet valid for six months.

Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines reported that power transmission operations in Luzon are back to normal as the company completed the restoration of lines affected by Egay.

Normalization of the Luzon grid came after NGCP restored the last affected San Esteban-Bangued 69kV line at 6:06 a.m. Friday. Transmission services in other affected areas are now under normal operations. With AFP

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