‘Labuyo’ leaves eight dead, hundreds of folks displaced

The death toll rose to eight as cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure from onslaught of Typhoon "Labuyo" last week ballooned to more than P1 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported Friday.

The NDRRMC said cost of damage to property and crops in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Cordillera Administrative Region has reached P1,081,719,037.59 (P358,547,941.93 in infrastructure and P723,171,096.66 in agriculture).

The NDRRMC reported that Central Luzon suffered the most during the typhoon’s onslaught with P421,653,318.88 cost of damage to property and crops followed by Cagayan Valley with P417 million.

The agency also reported that a total of 84,571 families or 383,540 persons in the 16 provinces of the five regions were affected by the typhoon.

A total of 53 families are still in two evacuation centers while 24,605 families are staying in their friends’ and relatives’ houses.

The NDRRMC has confirmed eight people killed at the height of the typhoon while four more remained missingas rescuers recovered the body of a 40 year old woman in Isabela.

A radio report said a team of rescuers from the Philippine Army recovered the body of the woman around 11:30 p.m. last Tuesday.

The victim was caught on video on the roof top of the house while being swept by raging waters during the height of the typhoon, which caused flashflood in the area.

The NDRRMCl identified the fatalities as Joemar Salicong, 22 and Reynaldo dela Cruz, 53. Salicong was killed in a mudslide in Benguet province while Dela Cruz drowned in Nueva Vizcaya.

The missing victims were Benny Amario of Isabela and Julio Balanoba of Batanes.

The NDRRMC also reported a total of 7,100 families or 31,256 people were affected and displaced by the typhoon in Cagayan Valley, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Bicol and Cordillera Administrative Region.

The agency has pegged the typhoon's damaged to property in Ilocos region and Central Luzon at P57,459,573.58.

A big chunk of the amount, P43,130,750, was recorded in Aurora province.

The NDRRMC said that a total of 229 houses were totally damaged and 1,384 more were partially damaged during the typhoon's onslaught.

Typhoon Labuyo may have left the country, but its destruction will be felt for some time by farmers in the Cordillera, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon which incurred, by initial estimates, P438 million in agricultural damage, authorities said.

Labuyo’s onslaught in the Cordillera region, particularly Benguet, left crop losses reaching over P11 million.

Based on initial assessment, losses included P4.2 million worth of high-value crops like upland vegetables, P1.7 million worth of palay, and P5.3 million worth of corn, according to Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera officer-in-charge Alex Uy.

Agot Balanoy of the Benguet Vegetable Cooperative said there was minimal damage on vegetable farms in northern Benguet.          

In Mountain Province, Typhoon Labuyo damages to road networks reached P18,575,000 while damage to flood control structures summed up to P12,600,000.00.

Provincial Public Works maintenance engineer Domingo Pumecha reported this initial assessment was made on national road links and flood control structures of the province.

In a report, P10.325 million is needed to rehabilitate road slips and P7.250 million to restore road cuts along damaged national roads.

Clearing operations on intermittent sections are also necessary where P1 million is needed for equipments and manpower.

Various flood control structures also collapsed which will cost the Public Highways P12 million to restore.

During the onslaught of Typhoon Labuyo, district engineer Wilbur Likigan ordered deployment of the district’s maintenance crew to effect “band-aid” solution on critical areas, to manually clear minor slides and to assist in the clearing of massive road blocks.

Pumecha said his crew is doing preventive maintenance work to prevent additional damages and  prepare for typhoons or heavy rains.

Assistant.district engineer Charles C. Sokoken also advised the public to be vigilant on slides and falling rocks and debris during their travel and asked that road slides be reported earlier so these could be fixed.

In Pangasinan, authorities cited partial reports placing fisheries losses at P8 million and infrastructure damage at P42 million.

In Quirino, Agaton Pagbilao Jr., an officer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), said Labuyo’s fury destroyed P205,897,645 in agricultural crops, with corn accounting for the biggest damage at P177,460,824.

The howler, according to Pagbilao, affected 25,267 hectares of croplands, of which 15,330 hectares are planted with corn.

In Isabela, Senior Supt. Sotero Ramos Jr., provincial police director and action officer of the PDRRMC, said Districts 3 and 4 were the hardest hit by the typhoon, with crop losses initially placed at nearly P180 million.

Gov. Faustino Dy III reported that Labuyo destroyed at least 19,885 hectares of cornfields worth P138,741,314; 3,410 hectares of rice fields worth P26,555,375; banana plants at fruiting stage at P13,218,823; and vegetable farms worth P1.11 million. 

However, Dy said damage to infrastructure was negative but the water level in several areas in the province’s two cities and 34 municipalities was slightly elevated.

As of Wednesday, the water level of Magat Dam was at 191.90 meters, near the critical level of 190 meters. Its management earlier had to open one gate to let go of the excess water. – With reports from Charlie Lagasca, Luis Jose, Liam Anacleto and Pamela Fiar-odDungala