|
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Floods, landslides death toll now 26
MANILA - Floods and landslides killed at least 26 people, while 10 remained missing and hundreds of thousands were left homeless in the eastern and southern Philippines, the government's disaster agency said Saturday.
Post here your Valentine's Day greetings
Floods fed by heavy rains inundated entire towns and displaced more than 307,000 people in eight provinces, destroying roads and bridges, and triggering landslides, the National Disaster Coordinating Council reported.
Infrastructure and agricultural damage totaled more than P1 billion, mostly on Leyte and Samar islands, about 570 kilometers southeast of Manila.
Anthony Golez, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), said 17 of the fatalities died of drowning, five died of landslides while two succumbed to electrocution. The causes of the death of the two other fatalities were not immediately known.
Of the fatalities, Golez said 13 were from Eastern Samar, five were from Lanao del Norte, three from Leyte, two in Albay, while one death each were reported in Capiz, Samar and Misamis Oriental.
He also said there were a total of 10 people reportedly still missing -- five in Sorsogon, three in Eastern Samar and one each in Albay and Lanao del Norte. Four others were reportedly injured -- two each in Sorsogon and Eastern Samar.
Golez said initial estimates on the damage to property were pegged at P900.28 million in Bicol Region, Eastern Samar and Northern Mindanao.
Maslog and Jipapad towns of Eastern Samar region remain isolated and underwater.
States of calamity have been declared in Eastern Samar, Albay province, Magallanes town in Sorsogon and Sigma in Capiz.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited Eastern Samar Saturday, leading relief assistance efforts and providing "comfort" to residents affected by floods and landslides in the region.
Arroyo arrived by helicopter at Dolores town, one of the hardest-hit areas, at 11 a.m. Saturday.
She received a welcome from Dolores residents before attending a briefing from local disaster management officials and distributing relief goods and fingerlings.
Last Friday, a Malacañang statement said Arroyo was to give P20,000 each to families of those who died in the floods and landslides; and was to bring 25,000 meals to be served to the displaced families. (VR/JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (February 24, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Toxic chemicals found in Zambo