Agricultural damage due to Paeng now P435.4 million —NDRRMC

The town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte was submerged in a deep flood due to the wrath of Tropical Storm Paeng (international name: Nalgae).

MANILA, Philippines — Agricultural damage caused by the wrath of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (international name: Nalgae) has risen to P435.4 million, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Monday.

The agricultural damage affected over 24,000 farmers, mostly those planting rice.

“Ang meron lang tayong pumasok [P435.4] million in terms of damage to agriculture ang pumasok.

(We received P435.4 million in terms of damage to agriculture.)

“That covers 16,200 hectares of crops ang apektado, bigas po ang napakarami niyan, 15,000 hectares, affecting 24,813 farmers,” NDRRMC spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raffy Alejandro said in a Laging Handa public briefing.

(That covers 16,200 hectares of affected crops, mostly rice, 15,000 hectares, affecting 24,813 farmers.)

Relief distribution

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said they had distributed food and non-food items amounting to P48.1 million.

The DSWD assured the public that they are prepared to provide help as they still have P1.2 billion in stockpiles and standby funds and more than P264 million available quick response funds.

“Patuloy din po tayong nakikipag-ugnayan sa mga local government units po kaugnay dito sa ongoing distribution po natin. May sapat pa po tayong pondo,” DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay said in the same briefing.

(We continue coordinating with local government units regarding our ongoing distribution. We have enough funds.)

Based on the NDRRMC’s latest data, around 1.8 million people, or 575,728 households, were displaced by Paeng.

The Paeng death toll likewise climbed to 98.

Paeng is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Monday afternoon or evening.

Despite this, government agencies are preparing for the impact of another tropical depression named Queenie, which entered PAR on Monday morning.

JMS