At least five people were reported dead in Northern Samar after a massive flood hit the region, the Northern Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said on Monday.
During a Palace briefing, Northern Samar PDRRMO head Josh Echano said the five reported fatalities are still being validated.
“These are still in the process of being validated because we need official documents before we could declare that the death of these people are disaster-related. It takes time,” Echano said.
Several areas in Eastern Samar and Northern Samar were hit by heavy rain on Nov. 20 that resulted in massive flash floods that sank various municipalities in the region.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the heavy rains and flash floods were due to low pressure areas and shear lines.
NDRRMC said at least 282,938 families or 1,133,093 persons were affected by the flash floods while the estimated damage on agriculture rose to at least P120 million.
Echano said it would take at least one to three months before the province and its residents returned to normalcy.
However, in terms of infrastructure, Echano said it would take at least six months to one year to fully recover.