Rain fatalities number 14-21, say NDRRMC, PNP

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Thursday that the number of deaths due to the combined effects of the southwest monsoon or habagat, tropical depression “Butchoy,” and typhoon “Carina” had climbed to 14.

Of the reported fatalities, eight were confirmed — four in the Zamboanga Peninsula and one each in Northern Mindanao, the Davao Region, Bangsamoro and Metro Manila.

Six deaths, meanwhile, were under validation, of which five were reported in Calabarzon and one in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Two persons were injured in Northern Mindanao.

Two cases of missing persons were reported — one each in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Northern Mindanao.

A report by the Philippine National Police (PNP) said the number of fatalities due to the weather disruptions was at 21. The NDRRMC, however, said this had yet to be confirmed.

“The data reported by the PNP will undergo a process that is subject to verification and validation,” said NDRRMC information officer Easha Mariano in a Viber message.

1-M affected

“Carina,” “Butchoy” and the enhanced habagat combined affected 1,115,272 people, or 245,298 families, of whom 12,199 had sheltered in 263 evacuation centers.

The region with the most stricken barangays was the BARMM, with 339, affecting 113,769 families or 113,769 people. Soccsksargen followed with 128 areas and Central Luzon with 91.

Meanwhile, the number of affected road sections rose to 143, of which 49 were impassable, while 14 bridges were affected, of which eight were impassable.

Destroyed houses numbered 292, with damage amounting to P2.571 million, in Mimaropa, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, BARMM, and the Cordillera Region.

The estimated damage to infrastructure stood at P793,000, of which P710,000 was reported in Northern Mindanao.

State of calamity

Twenty-one municipalities were put under a state of calamity, of which 17 were in Metro Manila, two in Soccksargen, and one each in Mimaropa and the Davao Region.

According to the NDRRMC, a total of 24,154 families required assistance, of which approximately 20,000 were provided with nearly P33 million worth of aid.

Super typhoon “Carina” weakened to a typhoon on Wednesday evening as it looped near the coast of Taiwan, according to PAGASA. It exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility at 6:20 a.m. on Thursday.

Based on the weather bureau’s monitoring at 10 a.m., “Carina’s” center was estimated at 515 km north-northwest of Itbayat, Batanes. Tropical cyclone wind signal No. 1 remained over Batanes.