NDRRMC, OCD rectify figures on agriculture losses
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has rectified what it describes as a mix-up in reported figures in agriculture damage caused by typhoon ‘Ulysses’.
From the P540 billion reported on Thursday morning, the damage to agriculture is now at P4.7 billion.
“We apologize for the mix-up. The reported figures received by the Operations Center were erroneously tagged as already at the billion count when it was only at millions count. This was already rectified in the latest report,” said OCD spokesman Mark Timbal.
Based on the latest report, the hardest hit regions are Central Luzon with almost P1.4 billion and Cagayan Valley region with almost 1.3 billion in agriculture damage especially in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan which were swept by widespread flooding.
CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) reported P684 million in agriculture damage followed by Cordillera Administrative Region with P468 million. Bicol region, the area which was first devastated by ‘Ulysses’ reported P327 million damage.
The National Capital Region, on the other hand, reported some P349 million in agriculture damage.
On the other hand, P10.8 billion was reported damage in infrastructure, the hardest hit are the Cagayan Valley region with almost P5 billion, CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) with P2.3 billion and Bicol region with P1.8 billion.
Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the NDRRMC, said the figures came during the rapid damage assessment by the government agencies in the affected areas in the past days.
“These figures will still have to be validated. We are expected to come up with the most comprehensive assessment through post-disaster needs assessment which will be part of our comprehensive rehabilitation recovery plan,” said Jalad.
The fatality total for "Ulysses" remain at 73 with 19 other people still on the missing list.
The devastation wrought by ‘Ulysses’ came as the country was still reeling from the effects of two other strong weather disturbances that hit almost the same areas several days earlier.
For typhoon ‘Quinta’, the NDRRMC reported that the damage was at more than P4 billion in agriculture and infrastructure. A total of 27 people were confirmed dead while four others were missing.
For typhoon ‘Rolly’, the damage to agriculture and infrastructure was at P18 billion. A total of 25 fatalities were reported and six others missing.