MANILA, Philippines — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recorded 30 fatalities, with 11 of these for verification, due to Severe Tropical Storm Maring that pounded northern Luzon.
As of Thursday morning, the NDRRMC said it confirmed 19 deaths due to Maring and 13 missing persons.
Authorities have so far validated 14 fatalities in Ilocos Sur, one in Pangasinan and four in Palawan. Twelve of those who died in Ilocos Sur were due to flashflood, the NDRRMC said.
Verification is still ongoing on 11 dead, three injured and one missing person.
Authorities are confirming reports of two who died in Cagayan and nine in Benguet.
The NDRRMC also said Maring has affected 194,677 persons or 50,040 families in 673 barangays in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, CARAGA and CAR regions.
Of these, 7,370 persons or 1,775 families should temporary shelter in 124 evacuation centers, while 7,539 persons or 1,658 families were also displaced by the storm but stayed with their friends or families.
The NDRRMC also reported that 110 cities or municipalities that reported power interruption or outage. Of these, electricity has been restored in 30 localities.
Eight ports also reported suspension of trips. Two ports in CARAGA has already resumed operations.
Agriculture damage tops P1 billion
Agriculture damage in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Western Visayas and CAR due to Maring also rose to P1.09 billion. The NDRRMC said more than 53,000 hectares of crop area were damaged in at least three regions.
Damage to infrastructure meanwhile is estimated at P66.426 million.
The Council also recorded 325 damaged houses in five regions. Of these, 236 were partially wrecked, while 325 were totally damaged.
The national government has so far released P2 million worth of assistance in the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa and CAR regions.
Maring hit Fuga Island, Aparri, Cayagan on Monday evening. It exited Philippine area of responsibility on Tuesday. — Kristine Joy Patag