NDRRMC : More deaths in this year's Holy Week

MANILA, Philippines - The Holy Week death toll has risen to 31 while the number of persons injured during the period has climbed to 123, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Monday.

The number of fatalities this year is higher than the 28 recorded in 2013. However, the number of injured persons is way lower than the 583 posted during the previous year.

New fatalities were reported in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quezon and Rizal.

Most of the new fatalities died of drowning, a report released by NDRRMC showed. 

They were identified as Jenifer Balalio, 28, and Vic Mendoza, 16, who died of drowning in Cagayan; Don Don Abar, 24, and Jesica Fernandez, 15, who got drowned in Isabela; John Hames Sombey, 6, and Jeffrey Borreo, 16 who died in Quezon.

In Tugegarao City, a certain Rainer Tamaray, 10 died in a vehicular accident.

The NDRRMC has also received new reports about incidents that caused injuries in Cagayan, Quezon, Batangas and Bulacan. The causes of injuries were vehicular accidents, vehicular fire, exposure to hazardous accident and strong current.

A total of 50 natural and man-made incidents were recorded during the Holy Week as of Monday.

Of this, 19 were vehicular accidents, 16 were drowning or near-drowning incidents, seven were fire incidents, two were flooding incidents, two involved hazardous materials, two were vehicle fire incidents, one involved a stranded ship and one was a shooting incident.

The NDRRMC will lift its red alert status as the country’s overall situation is expected to normalize on Tuesday.