Reported death toll due to Agaton rises to 172 —NDRRMC

The reported death toll due to the onslaught of tropical cyclone Agaton has increased to 172 as of Sunday morning, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

In its 8 a.m. report, the NDRRMC said 156 of the fatalities were reported in Eastern Visayas, 11 in Western Visayas, three in Davao Region, and two in Central Visayas.

Of the reported deaths, 12 were already confirmed by the NDRRMC. Eleven of these were from Western Visayas and one came from the Eastern Visayas.

There were 110 more individuals reported missing, of which 104 were from Eastern Visayas, five from Western Visayas, and one from Davao Region.

Of the 110 reported missing, six cases were confirmed by NDRRMC — five from Western Visayas and one from Davao Region.

There were eight people reported injured, with four of them from Soccsksargen, two from Northern Mindanao, and one each from Central Visayas and Davao Region.

NDRRMC has confirmed six injured—four in Soccsksargen and two in Northern Mindanao.

As of Friday, the total fatalities in Baybay City, Leyte alone reached 101, the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) said.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview on Sunday, NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said search and retrieval operations in Baybay continued even during the Holy Week.

“So far, hindi naman tumigil ang ating mga kasamahan sa ground lalo na ang search and rescue teams sa ating mga operations. More than 300 search and rescue personnel ang na-deploy sa lahat ng ating activities para matulungan itong mga kababayan na naipit sa disgrasya nitong panahon ng Agaton,” he said.

(So far, our search and rescue teams have not stopped their operations, especially on the ground. More than 300 search and rescue personnel have been deployed in all our activities to help those who were caught in the disaster during the storm Agaton.)

Over two million people affected

A total of 2,015,643 people or 583,994 families were affected by Agaton in 2,419 barangays in Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and Bangsamoro, the NDRRMC said.

There were 207,572 displaced individuals or 58,492 families staying in evacuation centers, while 188,348 displaced individuals or 110,741families were staying outside of evacuation centers.

Timbal said the government has already released P48.5 million worth of family food packs, hygiene kits, medical items, and other relief goods that were given to affected communities.

He said volunteers who want to help out with the relief operations could coordinate directly with the NDRRMC or local government units.

“Ang gusto po natin maayos na mai-biyahe, ma-transfer, ma-distribute itong mga relief items na inyong ibibigay. Usually, ang kailangan natin pagkain, tubig, mga kumot, at mga kagamitang pang-kalinisan para sa ating kababayan,” he said.

“Iniiwasan kasi natin ‘yung dumidiretso sa community kasi hindi natin alam na baka nakatanggap na ‘yung community ng relief items, sobra sobra naman sila, while ‘yung other communities wala,” he added.

(What we want is to be able to transport and distribute these relief items that you will provide. Usually, we need food, water, blankets, and hygiene equipment for our countrymen. We want to avoid groups going straight to the community because we don't know, these communities might have already received relief items, while others have not received any.)

NDRRMC recorded 10,393 houses damaged due to Agaton—9,723 were partially and 670 were totally damaged.

Due to the storm, 192 classes and 139 work schedules have been suspended.

A total of 16 cities and municipalities were also declared under the state of calamity.

Agriculture, infrastructure

Meanwhile, the damage to agriculture has reached a total of P249,826,730.06 in Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and Bangsamoro, the NDRRMC said. This figure however is lower than the P703.3 million agricultural damage reported by the Department of Agriculture on Saturday.

NDRRMC also estimated the cost of damage to infrastructure to reach P6,950,000 in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Bangsamoro.

There were 69 roads and nine bridges that are not passable in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, and Caraga.

On the other hand, 240 roads and six bridges that were previously tagged as not passable are now passable.

A total of 76 cities and municipalities experienced power interruption or outage, but power supply in 12 areas were already restored.

Three cities and municipalities also experienced water supply interruption or outage. None of these areas had their water supply restored yet, NDRRMC said.

There were also 41 ports that were reported non-operational or had suspended trips. Of these, six ports have resumed operations in the Bicol Region and Central Visayas.

A total of 8,437 passengers, 2,473 rolling cargoes, 14 vessels, and one motor banca are also currently stranded in the Bicol Region, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Caraga.

Further, NDRRMC said there were 517 flooding incidents, 88 landslides, six flash floods, five drowning, three maritime incidents, two overflowing creek, and an overflowing river were reported due to Agaton. —KG, GMA News