A rare cloud formation is seen amid destroyed banana plantation four days after typhoon Pablo (Bopha) left hundreds of people killed and rendered extensive damage to agriculture at Montevista town, Compostela Valley, on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Pablo destroyed an estimated P7.1 billion worth of crops, infrastructure and properties, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. AP PHOTO/BULLIT MARQUEZ
MANILA, Philippines— Typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha) destroyed an estimated P7.1 billion worth of crops, infrastructure and properties, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said Tuesday.
The NDRRMC also said that the number of fatalities has soared to 714, with 890 others still missing. More than 1,000 people were injured, it said.
Of the fatalities, 457 have been identified while 257 were still unidentified, the NDRRMC said.
Pablo, the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year struck at least six regions in the Visayas and Mindanao last week, with Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental as the hardest-hit provinces.
The NDRRMC said that Pablo destroyed P3.4 billion worth of infrastructure, P3.6 billion worth of agricultural products, and P18.3 million worth of private properties.
The NDRRMC added that according to the Department of Agriculture, 26, 160 hectares of crops in 18 provinces of six regions in Mindanao were affected, resulting in the loss of 3,149 metric tons of palay; P1,523 MT of corn; and 250 MT of rubber, palm oil, fruit trees, and vegetables.
A total of 486, 554 families, or 5.4 million persons, in nearly 30 provinces in nine regions were affected by Pablo, the NDRRMC said.
It also said there were still nearly 26,000 families still at 134 evacuation centers. The government also continues to serve around 40,000 families
The sheer number of dead and missing, as well as the devastation brought by the typhoon, prompted President Aquino to declare a state of national calamity.
Under a state of calamity are 50 provinces, municipalities and cities in Regions IV-B, VII, X, XI and Caraga, the NDRRMC said.