Agriculture losses to ‘Maring’ hit P2.17B

LOST TO NATURE A corn farmer in Baggao town, Cagayan province tries to save whatever she could from their harvest of corn after floods inundated their farms. —BOBBY DUMAYAG JR.

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from the 40 people killed and 18 missing by Severe Tropical Storm “Maring,” damage to agriculture in seven regions has already reached P2.17 billion, the National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Sunday.

The figure was P430 million more than the P1.74 billion, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Saturday.

The NDRRMC placed at P2.173 billion damage to agriculture in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, the Western Visayas, Caraga and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Ilocos region worst hit

The NDRRMC noted that agriculture in the Ilocos region was the worst hit, with damage pegged at almost P1.4 billion.

Damage to infrastructure in the Ilocos Region, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Caraga and the Western Visayas was estimated to be over P1 billion. Also worst hit in terms of infrastructure was the Ilocos region with P911 million worth of damaged public facilities.

The NDRRMC said that among the 40 reported deaths, only 23 have been confirmed while the rest are still being validated.

On the other hand, 16 of 18 missing persons have been confirmed to be unaccounted for and are still the subject of search operations while two reported missing persons are still for validation.

The missing were presumed to have been swept away by floods and strong water currents or buried in landslides at the height of Maring’s onslaught.

Of the 40 reported fatalities, 14 are in Ilocos Sur; nine in Benguet; seven in Pangasinan; five in Palawan; three in Cagayan Province; and one each in La Union and Ilocos Norte. INQ