17,000 families still in evacuation centers in storm-hit areas
A general view of the flooded Municipality of Kabacan, North Cotabato, on the southern island of Mindanao on December 23, 2017, after Typhoon Vinta dumped torrential rains across the island. The death toll from a tropical storm in the southern Philippines climbed swiftly to 133 on December 23, as rescuers pulled dozens of bodies from a swollen river, police said. Ferdinandh Cabrera/AFP
MANILA, Philippines — Around 17,000 families may welcome 2018 in evacuation centers due to Typhoon Vinta, which caused widespread damage across the country earlier this month.
There were 17,302 families in 90 evacuation centers as of Sunday morning, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said.
A total of 168,081 families, or around 794,613 people, were affected in 1,151 barangays in the Mimaropa, Central Visayas,Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, and Caraga regions and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The tropical storm destroyed 3,584 houses and damaged 3,129.
Vinta left the Philippine Area of Responsibility on the morning of December 24, after battering Mindanao and triggering landslides in Cagayan de Oro City, and in several towns in Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay provinces.
Initial reports from different local government agencies put the death toll at more than 230, but the NDRRMC said that it is still verifying the numbers.
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The NDRRMC however noted that flooding in the 239 areas affected by the typhoon had subsided by Sunday morning.
The following areas remain under the state of calamity:
- Tambulig, Zamboanga del Sur
- Province of Lanao del Norte
- Labason, Zamboanga del Norte
- Salug, Zamboanga del Norte
- Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay
- Balabac, Palawan
- Aborlan, Palawan
- Bataraza, Palawan
- Gutalac, Zamboanga del Norte
- Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte
- Baungon, Bukidnon
- Province of Lanao del Sur
The agency also said that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has given worth of P29.8 million in assistance to families affected by the typhoon.
The United Nations Children's Fund earlier said that it stands ready to provide a relief and deploy field team in the wake of Vinta. The European Union, meanwhile, has pledged P34 million (€570,000) worth of humanitarian aid to Vinta-affected families and communities.
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NDRRMC spokesperson Mina Marasigan also stressed the public should heed warnings on a new low pressure area that Pagasa is monitoring.
According to the state weather bureau, the new weather system is expected to develop into a tropical depression within the next 48 hours.
Pagasa also said that new LPA "may cross Mindanao beginning Monday until Tuesday and bring moderate to heavy rains which may trigger flash floods and landslides."
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