‘Quinta’ toll: 13 dead, P1.4B in agricultural losses

FARM DAMAGE Farmlands in Libon, Albay, are submerged in floodwater after Typhoon “Quinta” battered the Bicol region early this week. —PHOTO COURTESY OF ALBAY REP. FERNANDO CABREDO

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines  — Typhoon Quinta (international name: Molave) left at least 13 people dead and destroyed P1.4 billion worth of crops, livestock and irrigation systems as it swept through three regions in southern Luzon early this week.

But the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Wednesday warned residents in areas hit by Quinta to brace for another stormy weekend, as it kept its sights on a tropical depression outside of the Philippine territory but forecast to move toward Bicol by Saturday.

Once inside the Philippine area of responsibility, it will be named “Rolly,” the 18th cyclone in the country for this year.As of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the weather system was located at 1,910 kilometers east of Central Luzon. It packed winds of 55 km per hour near the center and gusts of up to 70 kph. Pagasa said it was moving west northwestward at a speed of 10 kph and expected to enter the Philippine territory by Thursday morning or afternoon.Deaths

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol reported five typhoon-related fatalities on Wednesday, while the disaster response agency in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) reported two deaths.

Six fatalities were reported earlier from Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Mimaropa.

Among the latest deaths were a fisherman from El Nido, Palawan, and a resident of Torrijos, Marinduque, who were hit by fallen trees. The Bicol OCD reported that four of the region’s fatalities, two of whom were minors, drowned while one was electrocuted.

Separate search and rescue operations are ongoing for five missing fishermen in Catanduanes and Occidental Mindoro provinces.Gremil Alexis Naz, the OCD Bicol spokesperson, said reports of typhoon casualties would be verified by the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Management of Dead and Missing Cluster.

Initial assessment reports from regional disaster response agencies showed that 14,888 hectares of land planted with rice, corn, coconut and other high-value crops were damaged in Mimaropa, with losses reaching P788 million.

Farms and irrigation systems, worth P5 million, were also ruined in Batangas, Rizal and Laguna provinces.

In Bicol, hardest hit were the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon and Catanduanes where crops in more than 8,000 ha of farms were destroyed or damaged. Losses were initially placed at P652 million, according to a report released on Wednesday by the OCD.

But the Department of Agriculture said 639,957 metric tons of palay and corn worth P8.97 billion were saved from Quinta’s onslaught, due to advisories it issued earlier to farmers.Damage to infrastructure in Bicol was estimated at P36.2 million, while 10,716 houses were either damaged and destroyed, it said.

In Mimaropa, Oriental Mindoro bore the brunt of Quinta, losing P623 million worth of crops. The province is now under a state of calamity.

More than 500 fishing boats, worth P3.8 million, were damaged or lost in Oriental Mindoro and Marinduque, according to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).

But Elizer Salilig, director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Mimaropa, said damage to fishing boats and gears in Oriental Mindoro alone could reach up to P20 million, based on the provincial government’s assessment.

In Mabini town, Batangas, authorities assessed the cost of damage to diving boats that were mainly used for tourism activities in the town. Jake Calangi, president of the resort owners association, said 40 diving boats, each one worth about P300,000, could not be used anymore.

As of Wednesday, 5,003 families (18,836 people) in Mimaropa and 11,976 families (45,996 people) in Calabarzon remained in evacuation centers, reports from the RDRRMC in these regions said.

Central Luzon floods

In Central Luzon, the number of flooded villages in Pampanga province rose to 68 as the Pampanga River, a main river basin in the region that drains to Manila Bay, overflowed, two days after Quinta left the country.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said there were no evacuations although the Department of Social Welfare and Development reported that 118,060 people in Pampanga were affected by floods.

Bulacan province reported 36 villages still flooded, while Aurora province had one.

Damage to infrastructure and agriculture in the region had been pegged at P83.673 million as of Tuesday. —REPORTS FROM MAR ARGUELLES, MARICAR CINCO, TONETTE OREJAS, KARL OCAMPO AND JHESSET O. ENANO