MANILA, Philippines — The number of families affected by Typhoon Ursula (international name Phanfone) has risen to 600,142, or 2,431,821 persons, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported Thursday morning.
That number has steadily risen with each passing bulletin, as the NDRRMC previously reported 594,981 families— around 2,405,753 people—another influx, too, from the previously listed 522,460 families—2,122,581 people.
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Conversely, the number of these families seeking shelter in temporary shelters has been on the downtrend as more and more people are able to return home as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, Bicol, Western, Central and Eastern Visayas continue to reel from a flurry of Christmas rains.
The latest NDRRMC report said that 19,553 families or 77,989 persons were still spread out across a total of 584 evacuation centers.
Before this, only 20,209 families, or around 80,660 people, among the affected were taking temporary shelter. Earlier, the number of those displaced was 21,409 families—84,909 people.
The affected regions are facing a total of P1.2 billion in damage to infrastructure and to agriculture, also an uptick from the previously reported P1.08 billion.
The figures on casualties caused by the torrential rains and destructive winds remain unchanged as 50 lives were lost in the aftermath of "Ursula."