Pepito agriculture, infrastructure damage hits P121.6 million

MANILA, Philippines — Damage to agriculture and infrastructure in areas affected by Tropical Storm Pepito has reached P121.6 million.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesman Mark Timbal said the agriculture sector incurred P92.4 million in damage.

Timbal said P29.2 million worth of infrastructure, mostly school facilities, were damaged.

There was no reported casualty even as 5,555 families or over 25,000 people in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Calabarzon were affected by widespread flooding.

More than 3,600 families or 16,300 individuals took shelter in 89 evacuation centers.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Pepito intensified into a typhoon as it left the Philippine area of responsibility at 7:30 a.m. yesterday.

The eye of the typhoon was estimated 485 kilometers northwest of Dagupan City, Pangasinan as of 10 a.m. yesterday.

Rains fail to fill dams

Meanwhile, only Ipo Dam among the four major dams in Luzon reached normal water level due to heavy rains dumped by Pepito.

The Central Luzon DRRMC said the water level in Ipo Dam reached its normal mark of 101.9 meters yesterday.

Angat Dam’s water level at 190.37 meters is still below its normal operating level of 210 meters.

The water level in Bustos Dam increased to 16.16 meters, but is still below its normal 17 meters.

Pantanbangan Dam’s water mark, which reached 190.16 meters, is way below its normal level of 218.5 meters.

The regional DRRMC said 1,616 families or 5,730 persons were affected by Pepito in Baler, Quezon; Casiguran, Dilasag, San Luis, Sinalungan, Dingalan and Ma. Aurora towns in Aurora, and Licab, Nueva Ecija.

It said floodwaters inundated 30 barangays in Bulacan, 45 in Pampanga and one in Zambales. – Louise Maureen Simeon, Ding Cervantes, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Ric Sapnu