NDCC: Damage caused by 'Ondoy' breaches P8-B mark

The damage to property caused by tropical storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana) breached the P8-billion mark, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said Sunday night. The NDCC also said that the number of evacuees in evacuation centers continued to go down as some of them decamped and went home. "Evacuees further decreased from 74,258 families or 370,147 individuals to 64,975 families or 317,660 people currently staying in 505 evacuation centers," it said. In its 11 p.m. report Sunday, the NDCC said the damage was estimated at P8.328 billion, including P2.743 billion in infrastructure and P5.584 billion in agriculture. At least 797,404 families or 3,899,307 people in the entire Luzon, Cordillera, Western Visayas, Regions 9 and 12, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Metro Manila were affected. Ondoy casualties Based on NDCC's October 4 report, the death toll remained at 288, with five injured and 42 missing. But as of September 30, GMANews.TV's independent fatality count based on various government sources showed that over 300 might have been killed by the storm. Also on September 30, Albay Governor Jose Ma. Clemente and a Malacañang economic adviser told the Palace to immediately announce a multi-billion relief package if it wanted to mitigate the economic toll of tropical storm Ondoy. An P86-billion "demand side liquidity package," Salceda said, will provide relief to typhoon victims while injecting much-needed liquidity. Effects of storm 'Ondoy' may reduce Philippine economic growth, as the damages "could reduce the real GDP [gross domestic product] growth rate in full year 2009 by at least 0.043 percentage points," said Augusto B. Santos, acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary, during a Cabinet meeting on September 29. Payback time Meanwhile, a group of Bicol residents arrived in Metro Manila Sunday night to help in relief efforts for storm Ondoy’s victims. Organizers of the Bicol relief mission said it is a payback of sorts to Metro Manila, which helped Bicol when cyclone "Reming" devastated the region in 2006. “This is a way of saying ‘Dios Mabalos’ to all the good people of Metro Manila who came to our assistance when we suffered from Reming‘s wrath in 2006," said businessman Zaldy Co, one of the organizers of the relief mission. Radio dzBB's Roland Bola reported the delegation from Bicol brought some P2 million worth of relief goods, and that heavy equipment such as bulldozers read to be deployed to Rizal province Monday. An article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site said the delegation includes 30 vehicles with indigenous relief goods and heavy equipment. At least 10 dump trucks brought brooms made from coconut midribs and sleeping mats from Albay province and food items from concerned Bicolano residents. There are assorted food items, canned goods, instant noodles, pails and blankets along with used clothes. There are also two loaders and some dredging equipment to help in the clearing operations, according to Attorney Rodel Batocabe, also an organizer of the Bicol mission. The group will also conduct medical missions at Bagbag, Novaliches, Quezon City, Cainta, Rizal, Marikina City and Los Banos in Laguna Province. - GMANews.TV