Storms, habagat death toll rises to 31

The combined death toll from the southwest monsoon and recent tropical cyclones has risen to 31, disaster officials reported Wednesday.

Casualties were concentrated heavily in northern and central regions, according to joint updates from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

Benguet recorded the highest number of fatalities at 15, all resulting from landslides. The deaths included 10 in Baguio City, three in Atok and two in La Trinidad.

Rizal and Batangas each reported four deaths. In Rizal, two people died in a Rodriguez rockslide, one drowned in Binangonan, and another was killed by a falling tree in Antipolo.

Batangas recorded individual deaths from drowning in Batangas City and Mabini, electrocution in Lipa, and a landslide in Santa Teresita.

Single fatalities were confirmed in La Union, Quezon City, Oriental Mindoro, Negros Occidental and Caloocan, alongside two deaths in Occidental Mindoro. Officials added that 19 people were injured and three remain missing.

The bad weather has affected approximately 2.2 million families, or 7.7 million people, across Metro Manila, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Bicol and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Emergency shelters continue to house 8,446 families, totaling 28,910 people, in 346 active evacuation centers.

Meantime, infrastructure destruction has reached P5.5 billion, with more than 2,700 homes damaged, including 323 completely destroyed. Agricultural losses stand at P1.9 billion.

Government agencies have distributed P1.42 billion in relief assistance to impacted communities so far.