Severe tropical storm “Florita” hit some 60 villages and displaced about 1,344 families or 4,646 individuals from the Ilocos, Bicol, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera regions.
Latest report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Wednesday, showed that about 956 families are currently staying in 19 evacuation centers while the rest are either staying with relatives and friends.
The NDRMMC said some 290 families or 1,013 persons from Ilocos and Cordillera were pre-emptively evacuated.
Five areas in Ilocos and one in Bicol are still submerged in flood.
It also reported one vehicle accident and five rain-induced landslides in the Ilocos region.
The storm brought a total of seven roads and seven 7 bridges that are not passable in Ilocos, Bicol, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region.
A total of 13 towns experienced power outages, five of which were already restored, with only one municipality experiencing water supply interruption.
The NDRRMC meanwhile is yet to release reports on damage to agriculture, infrastructures, and housing.
The storm canceled two domestic flights and a total of 9 ports are non-operational or have suspended trips as of press time.
A total 275 classes and 98 works have been suspended in regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CAR and Western Visayas.
No casualty
Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo on Wednesday said there is no reported casualty in the provinces battered by severe tropical storm “Florita.”
“We have no casualty. Thank God no one died, no one was hurt. Some have been displaced but no one was hurt due to Florita, so we have to be thankful,” Tulfo said in a Palace briefing.
Department of Social Welfare and Development Undersecretary for Disaster Management and Response Marco Bautista said more than P1.13 billion will be distributed to cover assistance to typhoon-hit families.
In the latest situation report of the NDRRM, it noted that 956 families are sheltered in 19 evacuation centers in Northern Luzon.
Around P900,000 worth of food and non-food assistance has been so far provided to areas affected by Florita in Ilocos, Bicol, and Cordillera.
NDRRMC also reported that three landslide incidents have beenrecorded in Ilocos, while two landslide incidents were reported in Bicol.
Storm’s center
The center of the severe tropical storm Florita was last tracked over west of Calayan, Cagayan accelerating west-northwestward towards Southern China and is now outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
It packs 100 km/h near the center, gustiness of up to 125 km/h, and central pressure of 985 hPa.
The tropical cyclone wind signal No.1 is still raised over Batanes,BabuyanIslands, the western portion of mainland Cagayan, Apayao, Abra, the
western portion of Kalinga, the western portion of Mountain Province, the northern and western portions of Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union.
Heavy rainfall is expected in the next 24 hours over the western sections of Luzon due to the southwest monsoon (habagat).
Flights canceled
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines issued two separate Notices to Airmen C0799 and C0798.
CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said that NOTAM C0799 was issued due to temporary closure of the Tuguegarao airport from 10:36 a.m. to 4 p.m. for some leak in the roofing of the terminal while NOTAM 798 was issued to check the Flight Service Station, an air traffic facility as it provides services and information to aircraft pilots. An FSS should not be confused with Air Traffic Control.
Apolonio added that they are still waiting for CAAP area managers from region 1 and 2 for their final report regarding the effect of Typhoon Florita.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture assured the public on Wednesday there will be no price increase for vegetables in Metro Manila
“Ilocos Norte is not Metro Manila’s only source since we are looking at only 220 metric tons, of which only 2 metric tons are vegetables. The rest is basically rice. So we do not expect the prices of vegetables here in Metro Manila to move due to storm and its effects in Ilocos Norte at this point,” DA Undersecretary Kristine Evangelista said at a Palace press briefing.
She assured that the DA is continuously conducting an assessment to identify the cost of agricultural damage, as well as monitor local supplies in Ilocos Norte.
Initial data showed that agricultural damage and losses in Ilocos Norte have already reached P3.01 million, affecting around 310 farmers.
Only data from Ilocos Norte is available as of press time.