The reported death toll from the torrential rains and floods caused by the shear line in many parts of the country has climbed to 44, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Friday.
In its report, the NDRRMC said 13 deaths have been confirmed – four from the Davao region and three each from the Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Caraga regions.
The remaining 31 deaths are still undergoing validation – 24 from Northern Mindanao, six from Bicol, and one from Zamboanga Peninsula.
Of the 12 reported injured, two have been confirmed – one each from Zamboanga Peninsula and Davao region – while 10 from Northern Mindanao are still being verified.
About 28 missing persons were also reported.
Of the number, three have been confirmed – two from Eastern Visayas and one from the Ilocos region.
Meanwhile, the remaining 25 are undergoing validation – 12 from Bicol, 10 from Eastern Visayas, two from Northern Mindanao, and one from Western Visayas.
A total of 4,522 houses were reported damaged in Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The figure includes 3,679 “partially damaged” houses and 843 “totally damaged” houses.
A total of 131,028 families or 509,340 persons were affected.
As of this posting, 4,604 families or 15,800 individuals are being sheltered in 151 evacuation centers with the rest having returned home or being aided by relatives and friends.
The damage to agriculture and infrastructure has been placed at PHP234.78 million and PHP1.13 billion, respectively.
Rescuers were still searching for more than two dozen other people missing after heavy downpours over the Christmas weekend caused flooding and landslides across central and southern regions.
The weather turned bad over the weekend as the disaster-prone nation of 110 million people prepared for a long Christmas holiday.
Hundreds of houses have since been destroyed and more than 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of crops wiped out by rains that have forced tens of thousands of people into evacuation centres, the national disaster agency said.
Most of the fatalities have been in the province of Misamis Occidental, also on Mindanao, where 16 people died from drowning or rain-induced landslides.
The Philippines is ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, and scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer. – with a report from AFP
