Christmas weekend floods death toll hits 44  

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The death toll due to floods following  heavy rain caused by the shear line during the Christmas weekend rose to 44 yesterday, with 28 persons still missing.

Reports gathered by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that provinces in Northern Mindanao have the highest number of fatalities at 24.

Six deaths were reported in Bicol, four each in Davao del Norte and Zamboanga peninsula and  six in Eastern Visayas and Caraga.

Most of the victims, including fishermen who ventured into sea despite the inclement weather, drowned.

The NDRRMC said search and rescue operations are ongoing for 24 people who remain missing in Bicol and Eastern Visayas.

Heavy rain that started on Dec. 18 affected 131,028 families or 509,340 people. Up to 4,604 families or 15,800 people remain in 151 evacuation centers.

Estimated damage to infrastructure ballooned to P1.130 billion, mostly in Northern Mindanao.

Damage to agriculture reached P232.7 million.

The NDRRMC gave assurance that concerned government agencies led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are continuously providing assistance to affected communities.

P1 million aid from China

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Manila donated P1 million to flood victims in Misamis Occidental.

“Help is on the way to our friends in flood-affected areas,” Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said in a post on Facebook.

“May this aid reach our Filipino friends in need, soon. By working together hand-in-hand, China and the Philippines can overcome any hurdle,” he said.

The Office of the Vice President (OVP), on the other hand, partnered with the Western Mindanao Command, Marine Battalion Landing Team-11, 74th Infantry Battalion and DSWD-Zamboanga City office to deliver relief boxes to residents affected by flooding in the city.

The OVP said it would conduct relief operations in flood-hit areas in Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Norte.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority sent a team to help in relief efforts in areas affected by flooding, MMDA general manager Procopio Lipana said.

“Their main task is to set up water filtration systems in communities with limited or no supply of clean and potable water,” Lipana said.

He said the team would also conduct humanitarian and relief operations in Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental within eight days.

In its bulletin as of 11 a.m. yesterday, the state weather bureau said the shear line or the point where hot and cold air meet, would bring cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over Cagayan, Isabela and the northern part of Aurora. – Ghio Ong, Janvic Mateo