No casualties in Cagayan following Florita's onslaught - PDRRMO

No casualties were recorded in Cagayan following the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Florita, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office said Wednesday.

Interviewed at a public briefing, Cagayan PDRRMO head Ruelie Rapsing said only three minor injuries were reported in the province due to fallen tree branches. 

"We have zero casualties," he said in Filipino.

Rapsing said they had conducted preemptive evacuation in 131 barangays prior to Florita's landfall in nearby Isabela province on Tuesday. 

"We evacuated 3,000 families composed of 9,000 individuals in 19 municipalities," he said. 

According to the official, relief goods are already being distributed by local governments in Cagayan, while food and non-food items from the provincial social welfare and development office are awaiting distribution to augment supplies in the affected municipalities. 

He also said that the province experienced power interruptions during Florita's landfall but that it was restored after several hours. 

Nine bridges and secondary roads remained impassable, but national highways are now passable, Rapsing said.

Florita left the country on Wednesday morning and is on its way to southern China, weather bureau PAGASA said in an update. —VBL, GMA News