The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday reported three deaths and five injuries due to incessant rains brought about by the southwest monsoon that was enhanced by Typhoon Fabian.
In a radio interview on Sunday, NDRRMC executive director Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad said one of the fatalities, a female, died when a tree fell on their vehicle along Kennon Road on Friday.
Her two companions were hurt.
The other two died after being hit by lightning in separate areas in the Ilocos Region but it has yet to be confirmed when the incidents occurred.
In the latest situational report, NDRRMC said 19,521 families or 87,493 persons were affected by the rains, particularly in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Region 6, CAR, and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Of the 24,798 persons or 6,064 families displaced, there are 22,263 persons or 5,554 families in evacuation centers while the others sought temporary shelter with relatives.
The disaster bureau said P924,666 worth of relief goods were distributed to affected individuals on top of the assistance being distributed by their local government units (LGUs).
Massive flooding, several landslides, and flash flood incidents were recorded in these regions.
The NDRRMC said the estimated cost of damage to infrastructure was at P2,481,000 while the agriculture sector incurred P14,593,900 worth of losses.
It said 345 houses were partially damaged while 109 were totally wrecked.
On Saturday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) estimated total damage and losses to Typhoon Fabian at P12.38 million.
The DA said at least 855 farmers are affected with volume of production loss at 228 metric tons and 906 hectares of agricultural areas in Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Western Visayas.
Affected commodities include rice, corn, high value crops and livestock. The values are still subject to validation.
The DA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center is addressing the provision of aid and other forms of assistance to the affected farmers.
The agency also reported that it still holds 104,471 bags of rice seeds, 11,390 bags of corn seeds, and 1,949 kilograms of assorted vegetables for distribution.
Loans through the Survival and Recovery Loan Program of Agricultural Credit Policy Council are also available, as well as indemnity fund from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation.
DA-Cordillera Executive Director Cameron Odsey said there would be a continuous supply of highland vegetables in the trading centers to supply the needs of the highly urbanized regions, particularly the NCR, amid reports of roadblocks and landslides.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Disaster Response Management Bureau, in its July 24 report, said the central and field offices have standby funds of P849.5 million, prepositioned goods amounting to P164.96 million, and other food and non-food items worth P668.3 million.
These are readily available to augment the resources of LGUs as part of the DSWD’s role as the lead of the Food and Non-Food Item cluster of the NDRRMC.
The same report showed the DSWD has already extended more than P1 million worth of assistance in Oriental Mindoro while LGUs initially extended help in Orion and Samal, Bataan; Castillejos, San Antonio, and Santa Cruz, Zambales; Batangas City, Batangas; Santa Cruz, Occidental Mindoro; La Trinidad, Benguet; and in Balbalan, Kalinga.
The department is also ready to deploy its Quick Response Teams for the provision of technical assistance to LGUs.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) deployed 1,000 of its personnel to assist in rescue and relief operations.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar instructed local units to initiate road clearing operations for hazards and debris to allow unimpeded passage of emergency response vehicles, relief supplies and commercial cargo.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Sunday said monsoon rains will prevail over Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon as Fabian, which is already out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, continues to pull and enhance the southwest monsoon.
In the 11 a.m. bulletin, the weather bureau said moderate to heavy with at times intense rains will prevail over the Ilocos Region, Abra, Benguet, Zambales, and Bataan.
Light to moderate with at times heavy rains will be experienced in Metro Manila, the rest of Cordillera Administrative Region, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, and Calamian Islands. PNA
In San Fernando City, hundreds of families in flood-stricken coastal municipalities of Pampanga were taken to different evacuation centers–mostly government schools and churches–as floodwaters rapidly rose due to monsoon rains and high tide, an official of the Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office said Sunday.
Gov. Dennis Pineda issued a memorandum to all chief executives in flooded towns to forcibly evacuate affected residents in critical areas and bring them to safer ground.
Pineda reminded local officials to adhere to the minimum health protocols to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
A total of 72 villages in 11 towns and one city have been inundated by floodwaters.
Also on Sunday, Senator Joel Villanueva urged the government to bring its COVID-19 vaccination drive to people in temporary shelters, saying these could be a hotbed for coronavirus transmission.
“What we should avoid is a calamity on top of another calamity. It’s difficult to have a double whammy of COVID-19 and an earthquake or volcanic eruption,”he said.
Villanueva, chairman of the Senate labor committee, is also suggesting that residents in so-called “danger areas” be put ahead in the vaccination line.
“We already know the geohazard places. They are prone to flooding and other calamities. Let’s prioritize the residents of these areas,” Villanueva said. “It there’s preemptive evacuation, there should also be preemptive vaccination.”
He noted that the number of calamity-prone individuals, while in the millions, only represent a fraction of the country’s population.
Last year, 4.56 million Filipinos were displaced by calamities, according to the 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID), with the Philippines coming second to China as to having the most number of evacuees.
Typhoon Fabian, which has inundated a wide swath of Luzon, has driven at least 14,000 people across the different provinces to flee their homes for safety, disaster officials said.