'Ineng' leaves 20 dead

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon “Ineng” has left at least 20 persons dead and has damaged more than P165 million worth of infrastructure and agricultural products, officials said on Monday.

New fatalities were recorded in Central Luzon, Ilocos and Cordillera Administrative regions.

A two-year-old girl named Reanne Quintero and her nine-month-old brother Regenty died of drowning on Monday, according to the Office of Civil Defense Central Luzon. Their house was swept away by a strong water current along Manganvaka River in Subic.

In La Union, a certain Jubert Bumatay, 21, also died of drowning. The victim went missing last Thursday.

A certain Mark Tobias, 24, also drowned in Abra.

Senior Inspector Joyce Ann Dayag, spokesperson of the Benguet Provincial Police, said an unidentified male cadaver was retrieved at the landslide area in Sitio Elizabeth, Barangay Taneg in Mankayan, Benguet.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said “Ineng” also left 17 persons injured. At least 13 persons remain missing as of Monday evening.

NDRRMC said a total of 72,326 individuals or 16,499 families have been displaced by the typhoon in Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Cordillera.

Of the displaced residents, 11,008 persons or 2,700 families were brought to evacuation centers while 61,318 individuals or 13,799 families stayed with their relatives or friends.

A total of 1,028 houses were damaged in Ilocos, Cagayan, Calabarzon and Cordillera.

Fifty roads are still not passable while seven bridges and two spillways have been damaged.