NDCC: Death toll reaches six, damage hits P16M

The death toll from storms "Chedeng" and "Dodong" reached six, even as the estimated damage to property reached P16.803 million as of Friday morning. As of 6:45 a.m. Friday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said the latest fatalities included a 40-year-old Bulacan resident and a 17-year-old girl in Baguio City. It identified the first victim as Marcelo dela Cruz, 40, a resident of Liputan village in Meycauayan. Dela Cruz was electrocuted. The second victim, Remedios Memorado, 17, of Baguio City, died after being hit by a flying galvanized iron (GI) sheet. Earlier, the NDCC reported that at least two were killed in Baguio, one in Abra, and two in San Miguel town in Bulacan. The updated NDCC report said 53,514 families or 239,232 persons in 215 villages in Metro Manila, Cordillera, Ilocos, Central Luzon and Southern Luzon were affected. Of these, 2,942 families or 11,880 persons were brought to 33 evacuation centers. Also, the NDCC said 42 houses were damaged in Zambales and Benguet, 32 of them totally destroyed. Damage to infrastructure was estimated at P4.3 million; damage to crops at P109,900; and damage to fisheries at P12.393 million, including P1.545 million in Hagonoy, Bulacan, and P2.096 million in Malolos, Bulacan. The storms caused the collapse of a mini dam in San Ildefonso in Bulacan; a riprap of the riverbank in Limay, Bataan; the Maasin earth dike in Candaba, Pampanga; the Gugu Dike in Bacolor, Pampanga; and a three-meter portion of the Baluto earth dike in Tarlac. For its part, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said 39 road sections in major and secondary roads remained impassable to light vehicles due to flooding. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it has prepared P9.509 million in relief goods. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Philippine Coast Guard have given fishermen and shipowners a "free hand" to decide whether to set sail during Storm Signal 1. Radio dzBB reported that the DOTC and PCG reached the agreement after meeting with the Philippine Inter-Island Shipping Association (PISA) Thursday. Under the agreement, the DOTC will allow shipping companies to decide if they will leave port during Storm Signal 1. Previous guidelines automatically forbade ships from leaving port during Signal 1. However, the decision must still get the approval of the transportation secretary. On the other hand, the (PISA) said ships are automatically barred from leaving port during Storm Signals 2 and up. Also, the PCG said it will let fishermen use their "intelligent judgment" to decide if they will leave port even under Storm Signal 1. - GMANews.TV