‘Quinta’ toll: 13 dead, P1.4B in agricultural losses

FARM DAMAGE Farmland in Libon, Albay, is submerged in floods after Typhoon “Quinta” struck the Bicol region earlier this week. —PHOTO COURTESY OF ALBAY REP. FERNANDO CABREDO

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines – Typhoon Quinta (international name: Molave) killed at least 13 people and destroyed $ 1.4 billion worth of crops, livestock and irrigation systems, hitting three regions of southern Luzon in early this week.

But the Philippines’ Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned residents in areas hit by Quinta on Wednesday to prepare for another stormy weekend as it kept its sights on a tropical depression outside of Philippine territory. , but forecast that it will move to Bicol by Saturday.

Once inside the Philippine area of ​​responsibility, it will be called “Rolly”, the 18th cyclone in the country for this year. As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, the weather system was located 1,910 kilometers east of Central Luzon. It had winds of 55 km per hour near the center and gusts of up to 70 km / h. Pagasa said it was moving toward the west northwest at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour and expected to enter Philippine territory on Thursday morning or afternoon.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol reported five typhoon-related deaths on Wednesday, while the disaster response agency in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) reported two deaths.

Six deaths were previously reported from Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Mimaropa.

Among the latest deaths are a fisherman from El Nido, Palawan, and a Torrijos resident, Marinduque, who were struck by fallen trees. The Bicol OCD reported that four of those killed in the region, two of whom were minors, drowned and one was electrocuted.

Separate search and rescue operations are underway for five missing fishermen in Catanduanes and Occidental Mindoro provinces. Gremil Alexis Naz, a spokesman for OCD Bicol, said the reports of typhoon casualties would be verified by the Department of the Interior and the Management of Groups of Dead and Disappeared of the Local Government. .

Initial assessment reports from regional disaster response agencies showed that 14,888 hectares of land planted with rice, corn, coconut and other high value crops were damaged in Mimaropa, with losses reaching P788 million.

Farms and irrigation systems worth 5 million pesetas were also ruined in the provinces of Batangas, Rizal and Laguna.

In Bicol, the most affected were the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon and Catanduanes, where crops of more than 8,000 ha of farms were destroyed or damaged. Losses initially stood at P652 million, according to a report released Wednesday by the OCD.

But the Department of Agriculture said that 639,957 metric tons of palay and corn worth P8.97 billion were saved from Quinta’s attack, due to warnings it previously issued to farmers. Infrastructure damage in Bicol was estimated at P36.2 million, while 10,716 houses were either damaged or destroyed, he said.

In Mimaropa, Oriental Mindoro endured the worst of Quinta, losing P623 million in crops. The province is now in a state of calamity.

More than 500 fishing boats, worth P3.8 million, were damaged or lost in Oriental Mindoro and Marinduque, according to the Regional Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (RDRRMC).

But Elizer Salilig, director of the Office of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Mimaropa, said damage to boats and fishing gear in Oriental Mindoro could only reach P20 million, according to the provincial government’s assessment.

In the city of Mabini, Batangas, authorities assessed the cost of damage to dive boats that were used primarily for tourist activities in the city. Jake Calangi, president of the resort owners association, said 40 dive boats, each worth about P300,000, are no longer usable.

As of Wednesday, 5,003 families (18,836 people) in Mimaropa and 11,976 families (45,996 people) in Calabarzon remained in evacuation centers, RDRRMC reports in these regions said.

Central Luzon Floods

In central Luzon, the number of flooded villages in Pampanga province rose to 68 when the Pampanga River, one of the region’s main river basins that empties into Manila Bay, overflowed two days after Quinta left the country .

The Provincial Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management said there were no evacuations, although the Department of Social Welfare and Development reported that 118,060 people in Pampanga were affected by the floods.

Bulacan province reported that 36 villages were still flooded, while Aurora province had one.

Damage to infrastructure and agriculture in the region had been set at P83,673 million as of Tuesday. —REPORTS FROM MAR ARGUELLES, MARICAR CINCO, TONETTE OREJAS, KARL OCAMPO AND JHESSET O. ENANO

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