The reported death toll due to Typhoon Karding rose to eight, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Tuesday.
Five of the fatalities were rescuers who drowned in San Miguel, Bulacan. Two fatalities were reported in Zambales and one was from Quezon, the NDRRMC said.
Three missing persons are also reported in Mercedes, Camarines Norte.
In its 8 a.m. report, the NDRRMC said a total of 60,817 persons or 16,476 families were affected by Karding’s onslaught. They were from 948 barangays in Ilocos Region, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
A total of 49,092 persons or 13,129 families were preemptively evacuated, the NDRRMC said.
The NDRRMC said Mimaropa reported an initial damage estimate of P3 million. The typhoon also caused P1.525 million in damage in the Cordillera.
The NDRRMC also said 74 areas experienced flooding in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol. The flood waters have subsided, it said.
A total of 16 bridges and 13 roads are not passable in Cagayan, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, and Cordillera due to the impact of the typhoon. However, eight roads previously not passable are now passable.
Power outages were also experienced in 99 cities and municipalities. Of these, 28 areas already have their power supply back.
Interviewed on Dobol B TV, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said three towers providing supply to Nueva Ecija and Aurora were down due to Karding.
Bypass lines, she said, are set to be established for faster restoration of power supply as repairing these towers would take months.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), meanwhile, said it is ready to distribute needed assistance to farmers affected by Typhoon Karding, which destroyed properties and livelihood in various parts of Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Bicol Region.
Aside from rice seeds, corn seeds and vegetable planting products, DA will distribute drugs and medicines to enable the livestock and poultry sector to recover..
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources will also disperse fingerlings and fishing paraphernalia to help small fishers bounce back from their losses.
As of Sept. 26, agricultural damage was reported at P160 million, which translates to a production loss of 7,457 metric tons of rice, corn, high value crops and fisheries.
To kickoff immediate rehabilitation of affected areas, DA will be using the P500 million Quick Response Fund. It has also set aside financial assistance, which may be accessed under the Survival and Recovery Loan Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council.
Following the declaration of a state of calamity in Nueva Ecija, an automatic prize freeze will also be enforced.
The Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday that at least 21 health care facilities were damaged by the onslaught of typhoon Karding.
DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the typhoon ripped off roofs and flooded some facilities.
“We have a total of 21 facilities that were partly damaged because of Karding… but there (was) no disruption of services,” Vergeire said during a press briefing.
Repairs are underway with the help of local government units, Vergeire said.
She also said there were no COVID-19 vaccines wasted due to the typhoon.
Meanwhile, only one electric cooperative (EC) affected by typhoon Karding remains without power. This was the Nueva Ejica Electric Cooperative (NEECO I), according to data from the National Electrification Administration.
NEA data showed that 88 percent of affected ECs are fully restored, while damage has been estimated at P2.829 billion.
Twelve ECs, however, continue to experience partial power interruption.
Also on Tuesday, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City on Tuesday filed a resolution calling for a congressional inquiry into the degradation of Sierra Madre mountains.
In seeking the inquiry in aid of legislation, Barzaga, chairperson of the House committee on natural resources, filed House Resolution 430, citing “an urgent need to save Sierra Madre” and “how we shall protect our ‘Mother Mountain Range’ to prevent the occurrence of floods in various places in the Philippines.”
“There is an urgent need to determine whether human activity such as illegal logging, gold mining, limestone mining, construction aggregate quarrying, deforestation and dam construction are being conducted at the Sierra Madre Mountains,” Barzaga said in the resolution.
“If such acts are being conducted at the Sierra Madre Mountains, there is a need to confirm if there were corresponding permits issued by the concerned government agencies. If indeed permits were issued, were there environmental impact assessments regarding their effect to the Sierra Madre Mountains?” he added.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority officials led by acting chairman Carlo Dimayuga III inspected areas vital in flood control and management a day after super typhoon Karding hit the National Capital Region and other parts of Luzon.
Among those inspected last Monday were C-6 Taguig Pumping Station, Effective Flood Control Operation System (EFCOS) in Pasig City, and the proposed location for a pumping station to be built at Tatalon – Araneta in Quezon City.
Dimayuga sidfloodgates operated as designed and diversion of floodwater in Laguna Lake helped in its immediate subsiding.
“Water from Marikina River didn’t reach its spilling level because it was diverted to Laguna lake for temporary storage and then released to Manila Bay,” Dimayuga said.
