The entire province of Albay was put under state of calamity on Wednesday after being hit by Typhoon Nona.
The declaration will allow Albay's local government units access to quick response funds, and its residents to avail of interest-free government loans. It also authorizes the local governments to freeze prices of basic commodities and simplify purchases.
A report by John Consulta on "24 Oras said that only 22 percent of the Albay have power.
"Ito, nangangapa kami sa dilim. Tiis-tiis. Sana magka-kuryente kami bago mag-Pasko," a resident said.
According to the report, the local government of Albay has been coordinating with the Department of Energy to ask the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to hasten the restoration of power.
On Monday, Nona swept away at least 50 houses in Albay, leaving dozens of families without a home.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), in its latest report on Wednesday at 8 a.m., said that 589,835 persons have been evacuated in the province.
Death toll at 2 –NDRRMC
Meanwhile, the NDRRMC said two people were confirmed dead so far due to the onslaught of Typhoon Nona.
It a report released Wednesday afternoon, the NDRRMC identified the fatalities as
Jason Desario, 28, who drowned in Matuginano town in Samar, and Aucente Pascual Jr., 31, who was hit by a flying galvanized iron sheet in Allen town in Northern Samar.
Romeo Fajardo, the deputy administrator of Office of Civil Defense, the operating arm of the NDRRMC, said they are in the process of validating more deaths.
"We will know in the following days but I think this (death toll) is low compared to previous typhoons," he said. "We have low casualty count though we cannot prevent damage to houses, infrastructure, power, communication, agriculture."
Field reports said four peple died in Eastern Visayas, including Pascual and Desario. In Mimaropa, eight purportedly died – four in Oriental Mindoro and four in Romblon.
The NDRRMC said 50,040 families or 241,330 persons from Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Visayas are still housed in evacuation centers – part of the 165,554 families or 742,991 persons who were pre-emptively evacuated.
It said 3,155 houses in Mimaropa, Bicol, and Eastern Samar were either damaged or destroyed. This is on top of the P159.5 million worth of damage to agriculture and infrastructure recorded in Mimaropa and Bicol alone. —Trisha Macas/KBK, GMA News
GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
