Damage due to Ineng tops P2 B; Abra under state of calamity

MANILA, Philippines - Damage to agriculture and infrastructure due to Typhoon Ineng has reached over P2 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and regional civil defense offices reported yesterday.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved Resolution 87 declaring a state of calamity in Abra, where damage to agriculture and infrastructure was placed at P667 million.

The Philippine Information Agency-Abra said damage to crops was P181 million; agricultural lands (P24.4 million), livestock (P10.5 million), fisheries (P1.7 million) and infrastructure (P44.5 million).

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 291 families were displaced and 238 houses were damaged and 71 destroyed.

The Cordillera Region was hardest-hit, sustaining P1.53 billion in damages; Ilocos Region, P489.93 million; Cagayan, P68.75 million; and Central Luzon, P17.36 million.

The breakwater at Port Irene incurred at least P50 million in damages, according to Renato del Rosario, assistant vice president for construction of  the Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp.

Ineng also damaged 2,818 houses in Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon and Mimaropa and the Cordilleras.

The typhoon left 26 persons dead. The latest fatalities were a victim of drowning in Cagayan and a landslide victim in Benguet, whose bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

Twenty-two people were reported injured and 14 missing. The number of displaced persons totaled 299,938 individuals or 67,510 families.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development said P12.7 million worth of relief goods – P11.5 million of which came from the DSWD and P1.2 million from local government units – were provided to typhoon victims.

In Santa, Ilocos Sur, which was isolated by the typhoon, the DSWD provided 1,460 food packs.– With Rainier Allan Ronda