600,000 people affected by ‘Ompong’ — NDRRMC

In Rizal province, away from the eye of Typhoon ‘Ompong,’ displaced families in San Mateo town pack an evacuation center in Barangay Banaba.  INQUIRER PHOTO

A total of 591,762 people or 147,540 families were affected when Typhoon “Ompong” unleashed its fury on the country, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) said Monday.

In its report, the NDRRMC recorded the biggest number of affected individuals in Region III with 286,730 people or 69,492 families; 109,472 individuals or 27,185 families in Region I; and 90,523 individuals or 24,863 families in Region II, among others.

A total of P28,976,636 in assistance was given by national and local governments and non-government organizations to Regions I, II, III, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region), and NCR (National Capital Region).

NDRRMC said a landslide occurred in Poblacion, Salegseg, and Balbalan, Kalinga, affecting the Western Kalinga Hospital. There were no casualties, but eight patients were transferred to the Rural Health Unit in Balbalan.

Another landslide was reported in Natonin, Mountain Province, which damaged 13 houses but there were no reported casualties.

In Labo, Camarines Norte, 13 passengers sustained minor injuries when an L300 van bound for the town of Basud met an accident. The passengers were assisted by barangay officials and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

A “sinking area” was reported at Gibraltar, Baguio City, where personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways and Bureau of Fire Protection responded. There were no reported casualties, the NDRRMC said.

A total of 451 houses were damaged in Regions I, III, and CAR, the report added.

NDRRMC also reported that 229 areas were flooded in Regions I and III and in Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon). It added that of that number, flooding in 35 areas have subsided.

Classes, meanwhile, were suspended in 957 cities and municipalities in Regions I, II, III, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, CARAGA, CAR, and NCR.

Work in government offices were also suspended in 228 cities and municipalities in Regions I, II, III, VI, XIII, and CAR.

According to NDRRMC, 144 international and 135 domestic flights were canceled due to bad weather. Of this number, four international flights and 56 domestic flights have resumed.

LIST: Canceled flights from Sept. 14 to 17, 2018 / Manila-HK flights canceled Monday due to bad weather

As of 12 a.m. Monday, 83 passengers and three vessels were stranded in ports in Western Visayas and Bicol, the NDRRMC said. /cbb