MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:50 p.m.) — The number of Filipinos affected by Typhoon Ompong has risen to more than 270,000, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The agency said in its latest situation report on Sunday noon that there were a total of 70,183 families or 270,338 persons affected by “Ompong.”
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Evacuation centers in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon are housing 39,824 families or 137,994 persons.
Some 4,104 families or 16,191 persons affected by the typhoon, however, opted not to stay at evacuation centers, added the NDRRMC.
The situation report also recorded that 80 houses were damaged in Ilocos and Cordillera.
President Rodrigo Duterte is going around typhoon-ravaged areas to monitor the rescue and relief operations.
Presidential adviser on political affairs Francis Tolentino, who is also the government’s point person for the typhoon, said that “Ompong” has so far left 25 persons dead in its wake.
The deaths were mostly due to landslides, he said. Of the 25, 20 were from Cordillera.
The death toll is feared to rise, however, as rescue and recovery operations continue.
The government has extended, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, P9.04 million worth of financial aid to affected families.
The NDRRMC also reported that a total of 141 areas in Ilocos, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Calabarzon, Cordillera and Metro Manila experienced power interruptions.
As of Saturday, September 15, 77 transmission lines were affected by the typhoon. By Sunday noon, the NDRRMC said 41 of these were already restored.
State weather bureau PAGASA said on its final severe weather bulletin on "Ompong" at 5 a.m. Sunday that the eye of the typhoon was located at 570 km west of Basco, Batanes at 4 a.m. today.
"Ompong" is barreling towards Hong Kong and China coast.
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