More than 20K persons displaced by 'Habagat'

MANILA, Philippines - More than 20,000 persons displaced by the southwest monsoon are still inside evacuation centers, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Friday.

As of Friday, a total of 20,753 persons or 4,869 families are still inside 103 evacuation centers and 86,186 of these individuals or 18,352 families are staying with their friends and relatives.

The bad weather, which hit parts of Luzon and Visayas, displaced a total of 123,301 persons or 27,393 families.

The number of affected persons has swelled to 584,730 persons or 122,412 families. The death toll from the southwest monsoon stood at 32.

Close to P24 million worth of properties have been damaged by the floods and rains spawned by the monsoon. A total of 88 houses in Central Luzon and Calabarzon have been damaged.

Some roads in Luzon remain impassable due to mud and water left behind by the heavy rains.

The Baliwag-Candaba-Sta. Ana Road Candaba Section remained muddy and was not passable and only half of the Batangas-Tabangao-Lobo Road is passable.

Electricity in Coron and Busuanga in Palawan, which experienced power outages during the height of the monsoon, has been restored.

The amount of assistance provided to affected residents by government and non-government groups has reached P3.73 million

On alert for “Paolo”

Meanwhile, NDRRMC ordered its field units to come up with contingency measures as tropical depression “Paolo” enters the Philippine area of responsibility.

NDRRMC said it has disseminated weather bulletins to all its regional centers.

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils were also directed to initiate preemptive evacuation of families in low-lying and mountainous areas if needed.