‘Ompong’ damage hits P18.8 billion — NDRRMC

A resident of Battalan village in Lasam town loses his family’s house after Typhoon “Ompong” battered Cagayan province on Saturday. INQUIRER FILE / RICHARD A. REYES

When Typhoon “Ompong” (international name: “Mangkhut”) swept through the country a week ago, it left more than P18 billion in damage to public infrastructure and agriculture, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Monday.

The NDRRMC said that of the total, P4.4 billion was on public infrastructure and P14.3 billion on agriculture in Regions I, II, III, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), V and CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region).

A total of 171,932 farmers were reported affected by the typhoon in CAR.

Also, 319 road sections and seven bridges were affected in Regions I, II, III, V and CAR, of which 23 roads and 2 bridges remained impassable as of Sunday.

A total of 117,685 houses were damaged in Regions I, II, III and CAR.

The number of persons affected by Ompong climbed up to 2.1 million or a total of 507,945 families in Regions I, II, III, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, NCR and CAR, the NDRRMC said.

Eight provinces and seven cities and municipalities were placed under a state of calamity. /cbb