TWELVE persons died while nine others were injured when typhoon Cosme battered Luzon over the weekend, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.
Over 30,000 people were also affected by Cosme, which is on the way out of the country's area of responsibility as of Monday.
Three of the four fatalities from Pangasinan -- Rosario Luiti, 20; Jessa Ducusin, 15; and Pepito Estacio, 78 -- died when hit by flying galvanized iron sheets. The fourth died due to drowning, a report from the NDCC said.
In La Union, Juanita Eserio and Leopoldo Labasan died when they were also hit by flying GI sheets. The third fatality in the province, Domingo Obungen, was pinned down by a wall that collapsed.
In Benguet, Joseph Palala perished when hit by falling rocks while fixing their water system. In Zambales, Benjamin Admana died after suffering heart attack at the height of the typhoon.
In Antique, Leo Amar died of drowning. Marilyn Oleverio and Melanie Elardes also died of drowning in Negros Occidental.
Of the nine injured, five are from Baguio City while two were from Pangasinan. La Union and Zambales each recorded one injured.
The NDCC also reported that at least 3,209 houses from the affected areas in Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Cordillera Administrative Region were destroyed while 5,586 others were damaged.
So far, the NDCC said at least 6,780 families or 34,755 persons have been affected by Cosme. However, only 65 families or 308 persons remained in evacuation centers.
The military's Northern Luzon Command has directed troops from the 24th Infantry Battalion "to conduct search and rescue and provide assistance to the affected families" in Iba, Zambales.
Cosme, which made a landfall in Pangasinan on Saturday, continues to move northeastward away from the country.
As of 4 a.m. Monday, the storm's center was estimated at 500 kilometers (kms) east northeast of Cagayan, Aparri or 440 kms east of Basco, Batanes with sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 120 kph.
Its movement was northeast at 30 kph and it is expected to be at 990 kph northeast of Basco, Batanes or 400 southeast of Okinawa, Japan on Tuesday morning. (VR/Sunnex)
