DOH: Floodwaters turning into sea of microbes

Assistant Health Secretary Eric Tayag

MALOLOS, Bulacan—Floodwaters in Calumpit and Hagonoy in Bulacan are turning into a “sea of microbes” with the massive trash and human waste dumped openly in the aftermath of last week’s typhoons, Assistant Health Secretary Eric Tayag said.

At a two-hour meeting presided over by President Benigno Aquino III, Tayag recommended the dispatch of “garbage boats” to collect wastes which were now contaminating floodwaters that have yet to recede and could lead to outbreaks of diseases.

Tayag said the Department of Health was concerned not only about the need for a potable supply of water in Calumpit and Hagonoy but also the “open dumping’’ of trash and its inefficient disposal which he warned could lead to outbreaks of diseases.

With people throwing garbage all around, he said, the floodwaters in Calumpit and Hagonoy could turn into a “sea of microbes,” adding that “microbes can be deadly.”

“We wanted to have sanitary toilets but how can you bring them to flooded communities?’’ he said.

Mr. Aquino rode an Army truck and saw for himself the waist-deep floodwaters around the municipal hall in Calumpit. His 500-meter trip would normally cost P20 for residents crossing the flooded stretch on a boat.

Need for evacuation

Mr. Aquino called for better coordination among agencies and local government units to address the flooding. He also called for an education campaign on the need for prompt evacuation in times of disaster.

“There were helicopters that were even equipped with night vision capability. When they lowered the ladder (for the evacuees), they were refused,” he said. He pointed out that rescuers were risking their lives conducting mercy missions.

Mr. Aquino also said there was no need to declare a state of national calamity, pointing out that P8 billion was available for the emergency.

Agriculture damage

Agriculture Undersecretary Antonio Fleta told the President that the damage to agriculture had reached P12 billion, broken down as follows: rice, P11 billion; corn, P522 million; high-value crops, fruits and vegetables, P221 million; livestock, P3.3 million; and facilities in the fisheries sector, P4 million.

The 27 affected provinces were Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province in the Cordillera Autonomous Region; La Union and Pangasinan in Ilocos; Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales in Central Luzon; Quezon, Rizal, Mindoro Occidental and Mindoro Oriental in Calabarzon and Mimaropa; Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Sorsogon in Bicol.

Fleta said 57,300 hectares of the affected areas were completely damaged while 383,556 had chances of recovery.

“Central Luzon suffered the biggest loss as the typhoons affected 263,470 hectares which is 73.97 percent of the area to be harvested for the last quarter,” Fleta said.

Infrastructure

He said lost rice amounted to 760,207 metric tons of palay representing 11.68 percent of the total 6.5 million MT expected harvest for the last quarter.

The Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Luzon reported that P323.5 million was needed to repair damaged infrastructure.