BAGUIO CITY – Five of the six provinces in the Cordillera were placed under state of calamity by their respective provincial boards after sustaining heavy damages to agriculture and infrastructure due to the onslaught of Supertyphoon Lawin last week.
Andrew Alex Uy, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Cordillera, said Kalinga, Apayao, Mountain Province and Benguet were place under state of calamity by their respective provincial boards through separate resolutions while Ifugao will still convene the members of the provincial board in a special meeting to declare the province under state of calamity due to the onslaught of the worst weather disturbance that struck Northern Luzon.
Based on the latest report from the OCD-CAR, All six provinces are in need of additional medicines for common colds, fever, hypertension and additional Family Food Packs for sustenance.
Further, 95 percent of areas assessed are in need of Generator Sets to power up vital services of LDRRMCs and 67 percent of areas assessed are in need of housing materials and manual road clearing tools and PPEs.
Uy added some 106,456 families or 464,724 individuals are affected by the typhoon;
A total of 7 families or 39 individuals are displaced and are currently housed in 2 evacuation centers in Kalinga.
He revealed there are now 21 confirmed casualties in the Region as follows: 16 Dead; 4 Injured; 1 Missing.
Janet Armas, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-CAR), reported 30,458 houses were damaged (Partially damaged: 28,178 houses, totally damaged: 2,280 houses. Most of damaged houses are in Kalinga Province;
Approximately P 21.7 Million worth of damages to fisheries was initially reported by the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Cordillera.
Uy said a total estimate of P 10 Million worth of Rice, Non-food and hauling assistance is extended by the OCD-CAR to affected localities.
Moreover, An estimate of P 29.7 Million worth of assistance was extended to the affected communities in CAR, from DSWD-CAR P25,942,555.04; from LGUs P 3,790,531.60; NGOs P 5,000.00.
Out of the 58 affected National, Provincial, and Municipal Roads, 32 are still closed, and 26 roads are now open to traffic.
Initial estimates showed a total of P 1,169,713,077.88 initial cost of damages to Infrastructure priority 1 per reports from the Department of Public Works and Highways – Cordillera.
On the other hand, an estimate of P 695 Million worth of damages to Agriculture was initially reported by the Department of Agriculture–Cordillera.
By HENT
