The death toll from typhoon “Basyang” rose to 26 as extensive search and rescue operations were intensified to account for 26 others, mostly fishermen, who are still missing.

So far, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Benito Ramos said the country is already safe from the fury of “Basyang” since it has already weakened into a storm and gradually moving away from the Philippines.

Ramos said the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region has the most number of fatalities with a total of 20, most of them in Laguna, with the nature of death mostly by drowning.

The three other fatalities are from Bataan while the three others in Camarines Norte, not six as earlier reported by new Interior and Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo. Four of the fatalities in the two provinces also died of drowning.

“The search and rescue operations are ongoing, we are zeroing on the case of a group of fishermen in Catanduanes and the crew of a fishing vessel that sunk in the vicinity of Mariveles, Bataan,” said Ramos.

“Basyang” wrought extensive damage in Central and Southern Luzon when it unleashed strong winds starting Tuesday night, damaging some 11,000 houses that affected more than 30,000 families composed of some 151,000 people.

Laguna suffered the brunt of the typhoon, having the most number of fatalities with six. Most of its towns were submerged in flood waters.

“A state of calamity was declared there, the provincial government has the authority to declare that,” said Ramos.

The winds unleashed by “Basyang” triggered a massive power outage in Luzon, leaving millions of people in the dark, most of them would likely to experience blackout since authorities said it will take two to three days more to fully restore the power supply.

“During the emergency meeting, the Department of Energy reported that strong winds caused the tripping of the north-to-south transmission backbone of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines,” said Ramos.

“But efforts are now being conducted to fully restore the power supply,” he added.

So far, the power supply in the entire Ilocos Region has already been restored while 80 percent were restored in Central Luzon. The power supply in other areas in Luzon, particularly in Metro Manila, has been gradually restored, except for the entire province of Camarines Norte which is still experiencing power outage.

Ramos said most of the major roads in Luzon are passable except for the Nueva Ecija-Aurora Road which is not passable due to 1.5 meter-deep floodwater, a major road in Caramoan in Catanduanes due to washed out portion of the road, and the Presentacion-Maligaya Road in Camarines Sur due to landslide.

The estimated damage to infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and schools is at P23.7 million but officials said the figure may balloon in the coming days as they are still waiting for the final report from the affected provinces.