MANILA -- The death toll from Typhoon Igme's three-day rampage in the country rose to 24 Friday, said a report released by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).
Nineteen of the dead drowned or were involved in accidents following widespread flooding in northern Luzon, while four others drowned in flooding on Mindanao island.
The body of another victim, identified as Capt. Luis Nuņez, 58, of Mariveles, Bataan and a member of the Manila Bay Harbor Pilots Association, was found floating at sea Friday after being declared missing since Wednesday afternoon, when he fell while trying to board the SuperFerry 19 at the Manila South Harbor.
Nineteen other people remained missing since the typhoon struck on Tuesday and are presumed to have died, NDCC said.
Twenty-two people were injured while the weather destroyed or damaged nearly 10,000 houses and displaced some 385,000 people.
A total of 22 persons were likewise injured while 10,000 were destroyed or damaged, displacing some 385,000 people, in the wake of the typhoon, which left the country and proceeded to ravage Taiwan on Friday.
The NDCC estimated the damage to agriculture and infrastructure at P500 million.
Parts of northern Luzon were still without electricity and some major arteries were cut off by landslides, overflowing rivers or floods, or toppled trees and power pylons.
The Army has been mobilized to rescue families marooned by floods in the north, the civil defense office added.
President Arroyo also ordered the NDCC Friday to start clearing a major road section, the Halsema Highwy, in the Cordilleras to allow vegetables and other agricultural products from Benguet and Mt. Province to pass through.
Mindulle struck northern Luzon with gusts of up to 190 kilometers an hour, but it later diminished into a storm as it brushed past southern Taiwan.
Civil defense officials said many evacuees have returned home when floodwaters in their areas subsided. Only 800 families were left in the evacuation centers in five regions, they added.
Several barangays, especially in Region 1 and Region 2, were still submerged in floodwaters. Thoroughfares are now passable to all types of vehicles, except for some narrow roads.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) said that as of Friday, Typhoon Igme was spotted over northern Taiwan. It continues to move farther away from the country.
It is expected to be north of Taipei, Taiwan by Saturday morning.
After Igme, an earthquake jolted several provinces in northern Luzon.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded an earthquake of intensity 4 in Kalinga and Apayao and intensity 3 in Isabela and Cagayan.
Phivolcs said the quake was due to a fault movement. No one was reported injured in the incident. (JFF/With AFP)
(July 3, 2004 issue) Write letter to the editor.Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
