Typhoon ‘Quiel leaves damage worth P1.3B in Cagayan province

TUGUEGARAO CITY –– The massive floods and landslides triggered last week by Typhoon Quiel and the tail end of the cold front left P1 billion in infrastructure damage and P300 million worth of lost crops throughout Cagayan province.

The disasters took five lives and affected 14 towns of northern Cagayan.

But the power supply of at least 64 barangays, which were cut, is almost restored, said Blandina Madamba, general manager of the Cagayan Electric Cooperative-2.

As of Wednesday, the power utility is working to reconnect electricity services to four villages in the flooded towns of Abulug, Allacapan, and Ballesteros. Workers are replacing four electric poles that toppled in Santa Praxedes town.

In the Cordillera province of Apayao, 1,617 persons remained at evacuation centers on Wednesday as clearing operations continued in affected roads, said Enrique Gascon Jr., Cordillera’s assistant director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Apayao floods affected 64 villages in seven towns, and initially displaced 9,337 persons.

Nineteen houses in Cabugao town were destroyed while 23 others were damaged by floods and landslides./lzb