ABOUT 382,000 people from 110,000 families have been affected by the combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Sunday.
In a 6 a.m. report, the agency said at least six people had died and seven were injured. Two deaths were reported in La Trinidad, Benguet due to a landslide, while two others in Rodriguez, Rizal were caused by a rockslide, it said. In Luna, La Union, one person died from drowning and another from electrocution.
The NDRRMC said all seven injured people were from Benguet. Five people in Baguio City were hurt in a landslide, while one person in Kapangan was injured in a vehicular accident and another in La Trinidad was hurt in a landslide.
The affected population was recorded across eight regions: Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, Cordillera Administrative Region, Mindoro Occidental and Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan (Mimaropa) and Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon).
The agency said 86 evacuation centers were operating, sheltering about 7,300 people from 2,200 families. About 3,700 people from 1,132 families were staying outside evacuation centers.
The disasters damaged 148 houses, including 138 that were partially damaged and 10 that were totally damaged, the NDRRMC said. Infrastructure losses were estimated at P105.5 million, while agricultural damage reached P3.53 million.
Assistance worth P13.21 million had been provided to affected families by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, local government units and other partners, it added.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said it was monitoring three low-pressure areas (LPAs) outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), although all three had a low chance of entering the country.
In a livestreamed briefing at 5 a.m. on Sunday, PAGASA weather specialist Alzar D. Aurelio said Typhoon Dolphin was more than 740 kilometers north of Itbayat, Batanes, while a tropical depression was more than 1,900 kilometers east of extreme northern Luzon.
Mr. Aurelio said Typhoon Dolphin had a low chance of entering the PAR as it was expected to continue moving westward toward the mid-southern part of China.
The second weather system also had a low chance of entering the PAR and was expected to move eastward away from the country, he said.
Another tropical depression was more than 3,400 kilometers east of extreme northern Luzon, packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour. Mr. Aurelio said the third LPA likewise had a low chance of entering the Philippines.
Despite the low likelihood of the systems entering the country’s monitoring area, Mr. Aurelio said the southwest monsoon would continue to bring heavy to intense rains to parts of Luzon and the Visayas.
Ilocos Sur and Benguet were expected to experience intense to torrential rainfall on Sunday, he said, warning residents in affected areas to remain alert and take precautions.
Continuous and occasionally heavy rains could trigger flooding and landslides, while strong southwest monsoon winds could produce waves of as high as five meters in the extreme northern monsoon area.
PAGASA kept a gale warning over Batanes, the Babuyan Islands and Kalayaan Islands. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking