THE casualties of the combined effect of Tropical Cyclones Luis and Maymay and the prevailing Southwest Monsoon continue to rise, with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) verifying reports from affected provinces.
As of 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the confirmed death toll has reached 19, with 15 others on the injured list. The NDRRMC also received reports that four persons are still missing as of reporting time.
The non-stop rains induced by Luis, Maymay and the southwest monsoon, locally known as habagat, flooded many areas in Luzon, including Metro Manila.
Still reeling from severe flooding, some parts of Luzon will continue to experience heavy rains, the weather bureau said. Zambales, Bataan and Occidental Mindoro continue to experience 100 to 200 mm of rain today, August 12 and will last until Wednesday, The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa) weather advisory issued at 6 a.m. said.
Pangasinan and Benguet, meanwhile, will have moderate rains or 50 to 100 mm of rain until Wednesday.
The number of affected families have reached 646,676 or nearly 2.3 million people in all regions of Luzon, the NDRRMC said.
Because of the inclement weather, communities were submerged by flashflood, prompting evacuations of affected families to safer grounds.
The NDRRMC said a total of 26,174 families or 94,997 people are presently sheltered in 919 different evacuation centers Luzon-wide.
Most of those who perished were killed by landslide, including two in La Trinidad, Benguet, nine in Baguio City and one in Atok. In Rizal, four people were killed including two from Rodriguez due to landslide, one in Antipolo who was pinned down by a fallen tree, and one in Binagonan due to drowning. Three others were killed in Batangas due to drowning, electrocution and landslide.
The NDRRMC said a total of 684 houses were damaged by floods.
So far, damage to public and private infrastructure has reached P1.5 billion while damage to agriculture is pegged at P135 million.
The government said the cost of assistance provided to affected families has reached P73.5 million.