Luis leaves 4 people dead, P409 M agri damage

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon Luis has left four persons dead and damaged more than P409 million worth of agricultural crops after pounding Northern Luzon, officials said yesterday.

The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) reported a death toll of four – two of them drowned in Pangasinan – with the numbers expected to increase as reports come from provinces affected by the typhoon.

The fatalities were identified as Tomas Martin Barol, 31, of Barangay Villaflores, Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya; one-month-old Javier Mateo, of Barangay Sto. Domingo, Piat, Cagayan; Rogelio Sayan, 74, of Barangay Alibang, Sison town; and Edmundo Dimatulak, 40, of Barangay Don Matias, Burgos town, in Pangasinan.

Martin, a construction worker, was buried alive by a mudslide at the height of heavy rains in Nueva Vizcaya Sunday, Norma Talosig, director of the OCD-2, said.

Talosig said a felled mango tree hit the house of the Mateo family, pinning the baby to death.

Sayan was swept away by strong current while crossing a river in Barangay Alibeng, Sison town and drowned, director Chito Castro of OCD Ilocos region said in a report to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

His body was recovered Monday in Barangay Camagasan, Binalonan town, Pangasinan.

Dimatulak, on the other hand, drowned when flashfloods hit Barangay Tambacan in Burgos town, Castro said.

The NDRRMC also reported five injured and three still missing in Regions 1 and 8, and the National Capital Region.

Zero casualty belied

The NDRRMC, for unknown reasons, excluded the list of fatalities in its overall disaster report on the havoc left by Luis.

But insiders claimed that the disaster response agency was simply following orders from “higher ups.”

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda on Monday announced “zero-casualty” rate.

Typhoon damage to agri hits P409 M

Typhoon Luis damaged P409.67 million worth of crops and livestock, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported yesterday.

The DA said the losses would have minimal impact on national production targets for main commodities such as rice and corn this year.

The storm swept across 18 provinces in Luzon. These are Ifugao, Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Kalinga and Mountain Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan in Ilocos region; Cagayan and Isabela in Cagayan Valley; Aurora, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga and Zambales in Central Luzon, and Camarines Sur in Bicol.

Damage to rice crops was placed at P270.27 million, while damage to corn crops was at P134.81 million.

Damage incurred on vegetables and other high value crops stood at P4.44 million while livestock losses were at P140,000.

Agriculture Undersecretary Emerson Palad said the department has started to mobilize its resources in affected regions.

“In fact, DA’s regional office in Central Luzon began distributing seeds to the affected palay farmers,” he said.

The department also plans to use part of the P289-million calamity fund it requested from the NDRRMC to help farmers affected by the typhoon.

In Bulacan, Luis destroyed a total of P43.6 million worth of crops.

The NDRRMC said hardest hit by the typhoon was the municipality of San Miguel, where seven of the 11 villages were submerged in floodwaters.

Roads remain closed

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) yesterday reported that road sections in five regions remain closed following the onslaught of Luis.

The DPWH said that in the Cordilleras, segments of the Mt. Province-Ilocos Sur Road; Asin-Nangalisan-San Pascual Road in Benguet, and Claveria-Calanasan Road in Apayao are still closed to traffic due to landslides.

The Shilan Beckel Road in Benguet is undergoing repair.

In Central Luzon, the Nueva Ecija-Pangasinan Road in Barangay Sabit, Cuyapo was closed to traffic because of washed out detour road. The Nueva Ecija-Aurora Road in Cabatangan River section in Aurora province was also closed because of flooding.

In the Bicol region, the Panganiban-Sabloyon Road in Catanduanes was closed due to landslide.

The DPWH said clearing operations are ongoing to remove the obstructions along the road.

Relief supplies

Secretary Corazon Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said 630 food packs worth P741,785 were distributed yesterday in Benguet, Mountain Province and in Marikina City. – With Czeriza Valencia, Evelyn Macairan, Helen Flores, Rainer Allan Ronda, Eva Visperas, Ric Sapnu, Cezar Ramirez