This handout photo taken on December 25, 2022 and received on December 26 from the Philippine Coast Guard shows rescuers evacuating people from a flooded area in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental. AFP
ZAMBOANGA CITY — At least P106.4-million worth of agricultural products, including cultured seaweeds, were lost to the widespread flooding spawned by a low pressure area in this city last week, affecting the livelihood of more than 3,000 farmers and fishers.
City agriculturist Carmencita Sanchez said her office’s assessment showed that 551 farmers growing high-value crops incurred the heaviest losses at P43.87 million. She said the city’s 1,873 seaweed growers lost P24.42 million after a total of 1,441.4 hectares of seaweed farms were wiped out.
Losses among 368 rice farmers were estimated at P22.41 million while 218 fishpond operators lost P13.29 million. Corn farmers reported P2.09 million in losses.
The seaweed farms are in the villages of Mercedes, Talabaan, Taluksangay, Dita, Buenavista, Muti, Curuan, Tictapul, Licomo, Tumitus and Taguiti. The fishponds are operating in Barangays Talabaan, Cabaluay, Buenavista, Curuan, Quiniput, Tictapul and Vitali.
The damage assessment also counted 107 fishers whose gears and boats were washed away by floods.
Sanchez said the farmers and fishers have already been given initial relief assistance by the city government to help their families cope as they try to recover from the impact of the calamity.
She said her office would soon draw up a recovery plan for farmers and fishers so they could get back on their feet quickly.
Disaster aftermath
Meanwhile, the death toll from the devastating flooding across the country due to heavy rains since early this month has climbed to 33, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Thursday.
Eleven of the reported deaths were from Zamboanga Peninsula. Eight flood-related deaths were recorded in Northern Mindanao, seven in Eastern Visayas, five in Bicol and one each in Davao and Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) regions.
Authorities continued to search for seven people.
Over 1.6 million people or around 412,000 families were affected in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, Caraga and the Bangsamoro regions.
Of these, 266,000 people, or about 65,000 families, were still in over 500 evacuation centers, the NDRRMC said.
More than 1,600 houses were damaged by floods, along with several roads and bridges that had been rendered impassable to all types of vehicles in these regions, the NDRRMC said.
Total agricultural losses reached at least P439 million, while the recorded damage to infrastructure was at P206 million.
The government has so far extended P86-million worth of assistance to residents in affected regions, the NDRRMC said.
Local governments in at least 59 cities and towns have declared their areas under a state of calamity, a move that would allow local officials to access calamity funds and hasten rehabilitation efforts.