DA: Agriculture damage due to shear line, LPA in Eastern Visayas at P147M

About P147 million worth of agricultural products were damaged in Eastern Visayas due to the widespread floods caused by the shear line and the low pressure area (LPA), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday.

“Itong shear line natin, as of today, ang apektado na atin is about 6,486 farmers,” DA Assistant Secretary Ariel de Mesa said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing.

(As of today, the affected farmers in Eastern Visayas is at 6,486.)

“Ang naitala na na damage is about P147million. 'Yung palayan natin ang pinakamalaki ang naapetuhan, about` P145 million,” he said.

(The estimated cost of damage is P147 million. The most affected are rice fields, with damage extending to P145 million.)

De Mesa said among the provinces hard-hit by the incessant rains were Capiz, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Samar in the Visayas Region and the provinces of Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon in the Bicol Region.

Based on the latest data available from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), two people were reported dead due to the flooding while one was injured.

At least 224,997 families or 879,425 individuals from 1,147 barangays in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Regions 5, 6, and 8, were affected.

Around 74, 290 individuals were displaced from their homes and were currently staying in 139 evacuation centers.

De Mesa, for his part, said the DA will extend P10 million worth of assistance to the affected farmers, which will include the buffer stock of seeds, corns, and assorted vegetables as well as livestocks, and alternative livelihood.

State weather bureau PAGASA said the shear line and the easterlies may continue to trigger rains in Aurora, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Bicol Region, Aklan, Capiz, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News