P’sinan typhoon damage up P3.5B

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Pangasinan’s damage due to storm Cosme has ballooned to about P3.5 billion to agriculture and infrastructure as of yesterday, with 32 deaths, based on the report of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).

Retired police Superintendent Paterno Orduña, PDCC executive officer, reported that crops destroyed amounted to P2,222,650,090 and fisheries at P1,086,838,000.

Damage to infrastructures amounted to P276,882,000 which includes hospitals, provincial government buildings, municipal buildings, roads, bridges, school buildings and other facilities.

With 24,723 totally damaged houses to be rehabilitated at minimal cost of P50,000 each and 59,654 partially damaged houses at P25,000 minimal amount of repair, that’s already more than P1 billion, he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Alma Ruby Torio, schools division superintendent of Pangasinan 1, told The STAR in a separate interview that they are praying hard school opening scheduled on June 10 will push through as scheduled despite the heavy damage in schools.

There are 534 public elementary schools and 110 public high schools under Torio’s turf located in the western, eastern and central Pangasinan. She said about 50 percent of this number was heavily damaged, based on their monitoring report.

She said they will do emergency measures, even to the extent of putting up tents, just to have classes.