5 Luzon provinces declare state of calamity due to ‘Lawin’

At least five provinces in Luzon have been placed under a state of calamity due to the damage wrought by supertyphoon Lawin (international name Haima).

The provinces under a state of calamity include Cagayan, Mountain Province, Ilocos Norte, Kalinga and Apayao.

There are reports that officials in Isabela are also mulling the declaration of a state of calamity.

Cagayan and Isabela were placed under Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal Number 5 during the onslaught of Lawin.

The supertyphoon made landfall in Peñablanca town in Cagayan.

In a dzBB interview, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said hundreds of houses in the province were damaged by the typhoon.

He also reported that at least four people have been reported killed in the province by the supertyphoon.

Mamba said power supply in at least 11 towns have yet to be restored.

In a separate radio interview, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chief Ricardo Jalad said 13 people were reported killed in the Cordillera Administrative Region and two more in Isabela province.

Jalad also said that Tuguegarao City in Cagayan remained flooded based on their aerial survey on Friday. —ALG, GMA News