La Union declares state of calamity

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Philippines — The La Union provincial government declared yesterday a state of calamity due to the damage caused by Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon. 

The declaration will allow the local government, led by Gov. Rafy Ortega-David, to utilize its calamity fund to assist affected residents and rehabilitate the damage to agriculture and infrastructure in the province.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said 34,090 families were affected by the recent weather disturbance, which destroyed over P86.8 million of agricultural products.

PDRRMO also reported that P17 million worth of infrastructure projects, such as roads and flood control projects, were destroyed by the typhoon. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture and the provincial veterinary office confirmed two new positive cases of African swine fever (ASF) in Luna, a coastal town in northern La Union.

Mayor Gary Pinzon said the municipal task force against the disease has been managing the situation and implementing precautionary measures to control the spread of ASF, which was discovered in Barangay Napaset.

“Key measures include the prohibition of ingress and egress of swine within a one-kilometer radius from the identified ground zero for the next 14 days,” Pinzon said in a statement.