Over 800K people affected by ‘Agaton’, says NDRRMC

A resident riding on a makeshift boat made of metal paddle past submerged houses at a village in Butuan City, Agusan del norte province on the southern island of Mindanao on January 17, 2014, as floods inundated villages and towns due to heavy rains. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Over 800,000 persons were affected by tropical depression Agaton, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Tuesday.

Although Agaton weakened into a low pressure area on Monday, it had affected 809,686 persons in Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Caraga and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as it remained over the Philippine area of responsibility.

The weather disturbance, the first one for 2014, displaced 203,022 persons in 565 evacuation centers.

It also killed at least 41 persons.

Rains continued even as Agaton had become an LPA. The weather bureau said it is likely to go on for three more days.

Over 600 passengers remained stranded in ports in Eastern Visayas as of 12 noon, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

Twenty-seven areas in Mindanao had been placed under state of calamity since last week, the NDRRMC said.

The damage to infrastructure and agriculture cost by the LPA remained at about P367 million.

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