NDRRMC: More than 11,000 displaced by 'Ineng' still inside evacuation centers

MANILA, Philippines - Close to 12,000 persons displaced by "Ineng" are still inside evacuation centers more than a week after the typhoon left the country.

A report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that 11,915 persons or 2,966 families are still in government-designated evacuation centers.

NDRRMC spokesperson Mina Marasigan said thousands remain in temporary shelters because Typhoon Ineng had damaged several houses in five regions.

"The landslides and floods damaged several houses so many of the affected residents are still in evacuation centers," Marasigan said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Marasigan said the government is continuously providing relief to the displaced families. Local social welfare personnel are also providing psychosocial services or counseling to those who lost their homes.

"The next step is the request for calamity funds for temporary shelters," she added.

Marasigan said so far, there are no reports of evacuees getting sick in the evacuation centers. Relief workers, however, are continuously on alert against diseases like diarrhea and skin infections.

NDRRMC said Ineng has damaged 5,742 houses in Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Cordillera.

The typhoon has also damaged more than P2 billion in agriculture and infrastructure based on regional civil defense reports.

The death toll from Ineng has risen to 29. The latest fatalities, identified as Jose Aluyan, 34, and Crisanto Ablao, 30, were buried in a landslide in Benguet. A total of 24 people were injured while 11 others remain missing.