Agri damage due to typhoons at P1.12B
‘The Department of Agriculture is ensuring that appropriate interventions are available.’
Daily Tribune‘The Department of Agriculture is ensuring that appropriate interventions are available.’
Floodwaters due to the storms and the southwest monsoon almost submerged villages in Calumpit, Bulacan on Friday morning as the river near the area overflowed. Various government agencies and groups have launched relief operations to aid the residents in the villages.
Ted ALJIBE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Agricultural damage from the combined onslaught of the Southwest Monsoon and tropical cyclones “Crising,” “Dante” and “Emong” has soared to P1.12 billion, up from P454.12 million reported earlier.
The extensive damage has displaced more than 45,000 farmers and fisherfolk across 12 regions.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported Friday that losses surged as floodwaters and strong winds ravaged 43,741 hectares of farmland, wiping out an estimated 26,566 metric tons of rice, corn, cassava, high-value crops, livestock and fisheries. The figures are expected to climb further as field assessments continue.
In response, the DA has mobilized over 1.3 billion pesos in aid, including farm inputs, rice stock, loans and insurance.
“The Department of Agriculture is ensuring that appropriate interventions are available,” the agency said in its latest bulletin.
About P653 million worth of seeds, seedlings, pesticides, livestock, and fingerlings have already been distributed through DA regional offices, while 43,940 bags of rice have been released by the National Food Authority to hard-hit areas.
To support recovery, P400 million has been made available under the Survival and Recovery Loan Program, offering loans of up to P25,000 at zero interest, payable over three years.
Another P268 million has been set aside to indemnify nearly 46,000 affected, insured farmers through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.
The DA said regional offices continue to validate field reports, coordinate with disaster and local authorities, and monitor commodity prices to prevent further disruptions. Price ceilings on key agricultural goods are also in place in calamity-hit areas, in accordance with Republic Act 7581, or the Price Act.
Meanwhile, tropical storm “Emong” has weakened and is now passing close to the Babuyan Islands, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported.
The center of tropical storm “Emong” was estimated over the coastal waters of Calayan, Cagayan, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (km/h) and gusts of up to 115 km/h.
Signal No. 2 remains in effect over the northern portions of Ilocos Norte (Dumalneg, Pagudpud, Adams, Burgos, Bangui) and Apayao (Calanasan, Luna, Santa Marcela), as well as Batanes, Babuyan Island, and the northwestern portion of mainland Cagayan (Camalaniugan, Buguey, Aparri, Allacapan, Ballesteros, Abulug, Pamplona, Claveria, Sanchez-Mira, Santa Praxedes).
Signal No. 1 is hoisted over the rest of Ilocos Norte, the northern portion of Ilocos Sur (Gregorio del Pilar, Magsingal, San Esteban, Banayoyo, Burgos, Candon City, Santiago, San Vicente, Santa Catalina, Lidlidda, Nagbukel, Sinait, Sigay, San Ildefonso, Galimuyod, Quirino, Vigan City, San Emilio, Cabugao, Caoayan, San Juan, Santa, Bantay, Santo Domingo, Santa Maria, Narvacan, Salcedo, Cervantes), Abra, the rest of Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, the rest of mainland Cagayan, and the northern portion of Isabela (Quirino, Mallig, Quezon, Delfin Albano, Tumauini, Maconacon, San Pablo, Santa Maria, Cabagan, Santo Tomas, Roxas, San Manuel).
PAGASA said a minimal to moderate risk storm surge, with peak heights reaching one to two meters within 24 hours, is possible over the low-lying or exposed coastal localities of Batanes, Babuyan Islands, mainland Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. “Emong” is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility Saturday morning.
In Apayao, hours before the anticipated landfall of Emong, residents in some parts of the province went to safer grounds.
According to the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), DESWD Cordillera, and Municipal SWDOs, a total of 86 families, or 269 individuals, from different barangays of three towns have been preemptively evacuated. The residents were evacuated due to the threat of landslides and flooding brought by persistent heavy rains in their respective areas.
Twenty-nine families were evacuated in two barangays of Calanasan Municipality. Three families were also evacuated in San Francisco, Luna, while 52 families evacuated in Aurora, Pudtol. The municipality of Calanasan is included in areas under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3, while Pudtol and Luna are under TCWS No. 2.
In a rapid response to widespread flooding triggered by relentless monsoon rains and the compounded effects of tropical storm “Dante” and typhoon “Emong,” the Police Regional Office 3, under the directive of regional director PBGen Ponce Rogelio Peñones Jr., mobilized its Reactionary Standby Support Force and local police units on Friday.
