Widespread flooding and devastating landslides caused by the combined effects of the southwest monsoon (habagat) and tropical depression “Butchoy” already claimed the lives of eight persons, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Sunday, July 21.
The latest fatality was a 22-year-old man who drowned in Brgy. Damalasak, Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur.
Five other deaths were earlier confirmed by the NDRRMC: four in Zamboanga City who died due to landslides and a 47-year-old woman who drowned in Maramag, Bukidnon.
Meanwhile, two deaths were still undergoing validation by the NDRRMC.
The municipalities of Kabacan and Pikit in Cotabato have already declared a state of calamity due to the bad weather affecting the province since July 11.
A total 636,110 individuals (131,388 families) were affected by Butchoy and habagat, of which, around 384,000 persons (77,000 families) were displaced and being assisted in evacuation centers or by their relatives and friends.
The damage to agriculture also rose to P8.29 million and the affected regions were Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) and Northern Mindanao (Region 10).
Meanwhile, infrastructure loss remained at P700,000 and the affected regions were Region 10, Davao (Region 11), Soccsksargen (Region 12), and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The national government has already distributed P21.57 million worth of assistance to the affected individuals.
Authorities were also preparing for the effects of tropical storm “Carina”, whose last location was recorded at 545 km East of Casiguran, Aurora at 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 20.
