NDCC: ‘Pepeng’ damage over P16B; P11B in agriculture

Damage to property caused by tropical cyclone "Pepeng" (Parma) breached the P16-billion mark as of Monday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said. The agency's 6 a.m. report showed that the damage to property was pegged at P16.553 billion of which P11.687 billion was in agriculture (roughly 72 percent and P4.683 billion (28 percent) in infrastructure. The NDCC also said that Pepeng’s death toll (438) has already surpassed deaths caused by storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana), which rose to 420 as of Monday, with 540 injured and 37 still missing. The Pepeng death toll rose to 438 as of Sunday, even as 49 remained missing and 182 were reported injured, it added. NDCC said Pepeng had affected at least 883,596 families or 4,163,476 people in 5,254 villages in 360 towns and 36 cities in 27 provinces. Of these, 6,995 families or 32,225 people were brought to 100 evacuation centers. "A Department of Agriculture lot located at Marcos Highway was identified as the relocation site for the displaced families in Baguio City," the NDCC noted. At least 5,843 houses were destroyed while 49,613 more were damaged. Kennon Road, Naguilian Road, Baguio-Bontoc Road and Marcos Highway are passable but the Baguio-Nueva Vizcaya Road is still not. In Southern Luzon, the Palco-Balayan-Batangas Road is not passable due to scoured embankment and protection of first approach of Cawong Bridge. The Marikina-Infanta Road is also impassable. The Manoot Bailey Bridge in Rizal, Mindoro Occidental is not passable due to scoured and washed-out approach. On the other hand, NDCC said at least 112 villages in 21 towns in Laguna and Rizal remain flooded due to Ondoy, with floodwaters ranging from knee- to waist-deep. - GMANews.TV