Cold front causes P112M damage in Mindanao

The amount of property damaged by floods spawned by the tail end of a cold front has swelled to almost P112 million, an official said Friday.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Benito Ramos said the cost of damage incurred from the floods has reached P111.64 million.

Of the said amount, damaged infrastructure accounted for P92.37 million while the amount of agricultural damage hit P19 million. On the other hand, damage to private properties hit P240,000.

The Davao region was the worst hit by the floods, sustaining P71.11 million worth of damage. Infrastructure and agriculture damage in Caraga region hit P40.2 million, while that of SOCCSKSARGEN hit P325,000. 

The floods have destroyed 278 houses in Davao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur.

NDRRMC said 499,669 persons in 315 barangays have been affected by the cold front. Of this, 51,056 families or 197,395 persons are still inside 117 evacuation centers.

The death toll from the floods stayed at nine while the number of injured persons rose to eight. Three persons remain missing namely Ramon Ampong, 63 of Asuncion, Davao del Norte, Renante Finca and Gary Galicia both from Oriental Mindoro.

As of Thursday, a total of 10 domestic flights have been cancelled due to bad weather. The flights were bound for Manila, Butuan and Surigao.

State agencies and local governments have so far provided about P6-million worth of assistance to affected residents.