MANILA -- Agriculture damage caused by Typhoon Ompong in five regions has climbed to PHP14,339,237,631, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson Edgar Posadas said in a briefing Tuesday.
He said the damage is confined to the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
In the same briefing, Posadas said "Ompong" has affected 171,932 farmers in CAR alone, and agricultural damage could go higher in the coming days.
When asked for figures on infrastructures, the NDRRMC spokesperson said they have yet to complete further assessments.
Posadas said a total of 218,492 families or 893,844 individuals residing in 3,237 barangays in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, CAR and the National Capital Region (NCR) have been affected.
He added that 43,603 families or 162,399 persons are being assisted in 1,780 evacuation centers while another 18,106 families or 73,661 individuals are being helped outside.
A total of 241 road sections and five bridges were reported to have been affected in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Bicol, and CAR, of which 106 road sections and one bridge are now reported passable as of Sunday (September 16).
Posadas added that 266 areas in Ilocos, Central Luzon and Calabarzon were reported flooded as of Sunday. Floods in 35 of these localities have reported to have subsided.
A total of 1,264 houses were reported damaged -- 130 totally and 1,134 partially -- in Regions 1, 2, 3, and CAR. While confirmed dead is still placed at eight, with two missing and 21 confirmed injured, the NDRRMC spokesperson added.
As this developed, the Philippine Army (PA) on Tuesday announced that it has deployed its 525th Engineer Combat Battalion (ECB) and K-9 working dogs to help in the ongoing rescue-and-retrieval operation at Barangay Ucab, Itogon, Benguet, which was severely battered by mudslide caused by "Ompong”.
Lt. Col. Louie Villanueva, Army spokesperson, said these units started helping other government agencies on Monday.
He added that the 525th ECB, aside from being a combat support unit, has been primarily tasked as the PA's Disaster Response Unit (PA DRU) while the K-9 Unit, aside from its usual duty as bomb detection entity, can also be utilized to complex emergencies to help save human lives.
The 525th ECB, composed of six search and rescue retrieval teams with their heavy equipment and specialized tools, is providing the much-needed workforce, as well as teams from K-9 search-and-rescue that complements in detecting victims buried in the mud. (PNA)
