10 more bodies retrieved in Quirino

CABARROGUIS, Quirino — The bodies of 10 Quirino villagers who went missing at the height of super howler "Paeng" were retrieved here over the weekend, bringing to 25 the total number of typhoon casualties in Cagayan Valley, with 14 others still missing.

Besides the death toll, Qui—rino, an inner province bordered by Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Aurora, also suffered at least P100 million in crop losses and damage to infrastructure, including at least five major concrete bridges in Aglipay, Maddela and Nagtipunan towns.

Based on the damage assessment report of the local disaster coordinating council and the Department of Public Works and Highways, Quirino Rep. Junie Cua said stretches of the national highway in the province were either cut off or covered with mountain debris during the typhoon.

"We need at least P50 million for us to be able to repair these damaged infrastructure vital to our economic activities," he said.

Earlier, Nueva Vizcaya authorities found the bodies of four villagers who were washed away by rampaging floodwaters in Bambang and Quezon towns.

The typhoon death toll in Nueva Vizcaya was placed at nine, and in Isabela, six.

Chief Superintendent Jefferson Soriano, Cagayan Valley police director and chairman of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council, placed the typhoon damage in the region at about P500 million, with Isabela, the country’s major rice and corn-producing province, bearing most of the losses.

Meanwhile, Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma said provincial workers have been working round the clock to re-open vital roads linking vegetable-producing upland villages to the rest of the province, as millions of pesos worth of vegetables could not be transported.