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Friday, March 29, 2024

Typhoon losses on agriculture hit P3 billion, death toll 12

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Agricultural damage caused by Super Typhoon “Karding” has reached almost P3 billion, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday, as the governor of Bulacan moved to suspend mining and quarrying activities in the province after flash floods killed five local rescuers at the height of the storm.

The death toll from the typhoon reached 12, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported Friday, after residents of Tanay and Antipolo, both in Rizal province, were added to the casualties.

The number of individuals affected by Karding climbed to 911,404 or equivalent to 245,063 families in seven regions, the agency added.

These individuals are from 1,759 villages in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, and the Cordillera region.

Only 921 families are now sheltering in 27 evacuation centers with the remainder returning home or seeking shelter with family and friends, NDRRMC added.

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The Department of Education (DepEd) also said it needed P1.17 billion to repair 165 schools damaged by Karding.

Also, 396 more schools were “totally damaged” and 92 schools were still being used as evacuation centers for the disaster victims, DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said in a briefing.

Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said consumers should brace for higher rice and vegetable prices, which may increase by 15% to 20% as crops were flattened by Karding.

The total value of agricultural production lost due to the typhoon stood at P2.95 billion as of 8 a.m. yesterday, based on the estimates by the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DRRM)—up from P2.02 billion worth of losses recorded as of Thursday.

Karding flattened crops across 164,217 hectares of farmland in the Cordillera Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, and Western Visayas, affecting 103,552 farmers and fisherfolk with a total volume of production loss at 154,734 metric tons (MT), the DA said.

Rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries were all hit, along with damage to agricultural infrastructures, machinery, and equipment.

In Bulacan, Gov. Daniel Fernando said he will issue an executive order to suspend mining and quarrying, as the province expected to incur at least P3 billion in agricultural damage from Karding.

“It’s time to take care and save our environment. That’s why by means of an executive order we will not allow quarrying and mining now,” Fernando said during the funeral service for the rescuers in the Capitol Gymnasium here, without elaborating.

The executive order against mining was signed on August 25, the governor said, stressing the importance of its implementation.

The worst-hit areas are towns in the third district—San Miguel, San Rafael, San Ildefonso, and Doña Remedio Trinidad, Fernando told ABS-CBN News hours after the typhoon left Bulacan.

For DepEd, Poa said the department has been working on acquiring disaster-resilient classrooms through its coordination with the private sector and other organizations.

He said the DepEd would incorporate disaster resilience in the new design of schools with the help of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

DepEd Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s spokesperson, Reynold Munsayac, said she sent her condolences and prayers to the family of the deceased victims of Karding.

Damage to rice crops reached P2.02 billion across 159,251 hectares of fields affected, with a total volume loss of 133,294 MT—0.66% of the annual total production target volume for rice at 20.25 million MT, the department said.

High-value crops—fruits, vegetables, legumes, and spices—worth P754.8 million were also lost to the storm, and the volume of crops destroyed was 18,536 MT across 2,964 hectares of farmland.

Corn volume of 2,634 MT, equivalent to P65.4 million worth of value of production loss from 2,002 hectares of area, was also lost. It represents 0.05% of the annual total production target volume for the crop at 5.11 million MT, the DA said.

Fisheries, including produce, boats, and gear, sustained P75.2 million in damage. Livestock and poultry incurred P12.8 million worth of losses as 48,183 livestock and poultry animals were killed during the typhoon.

The DA said it will make the following assistance available for distribution to affected farmers and fishers:

• P185.69 million worth of rice seeds, P23.16 million worth of corn seeds, and PhP 13.55 million worth of assorted vegetable seeds
• P2.45 million worth of animal heads, drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry
• Fingerlings and fishing paraphernalia to affected fisherfolk from Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
• Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) with loanable amount of up to P25,000 payable in three years at zero interest
• P500 million worth of Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas
• Mobile KADIWA centers for rolling out in areas affected by Karding to stabilize prices and supply of agri-fishery commodities

Karding left the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Monday.

NDRRMC spokesperson Raffy Alejandro on Wednesday said there were 10 initial deaths reported, including the five rescuers who perished in a flash flood in San Miguel, Bulacan; one individual who drowned after a dike got destroyed in Cabangan, Zambales; one more person who died in a motorcycle accident in a flooded street in San Felipe, Zambales, and another who was buried in a landslide in Burdeos, Quezon Province.

The disaster agency also announced that 6 more people were missing—five fishermen in Mercedes, Camarines Norte, and one in Patnanungan, Quezon province.

About 52 people were injured due to Karding’s onslaught, the NDRRMC said. Fifty of them were recorded in Central Luzon and 2 from Calabarzon.

NDRRMC’s latest tally also showed that more than 245,000 families—or 911,000 individuals—from Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Mimaropa, and Cordillera Administrative Region had been affected by the wrath of Super Typhoon Karding.

Of these numbers, nearly 40,000 families remain in evacuation centers.

The NDRRMC added that almost 57,000 houses were affected by the super typhoon, in which 50,000 were damaged and nearly 7,000 were destroyed.

NDRRMC said over P36.5 million pesos of aid has so far been distributed to the victims of Karding. Orlan Mauricio and Vito Barcelo

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