Initial damage to rice crops in Pampanga hits P2M

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Damage to rice crops in Pampanga from the recent flooding and strong winds brought by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) has reached P2,965,790.

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist said the data only cover the City of San Fernando and San Simon town. It said it is still awaiting reports from various municipal and city agriculturists.

Damage to rice crops in San Simon alone is pegged at P2,873,600, while the City of San Fernando only reported P92,190 worth of damage.

As of Monday, September 17, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the typhoon damaged paddy fields that could have produced 435,997 metric tons valued at P8.97 billion and “equivalent to 8.64 days rice consumption of the country.”

The DA Disaster and Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Operation Center said the agricultural damage for corn, rice and high value crops for the entire country is now at P14.27 billion.

In Central Luzon, Nueva Ecija was the most affected, with P2.84 billion losses to agricultural crops.

Lost rice production in the 397,204 hectares affected by the typhoon comprised more than half, or 62.82 percent, of the initial crop losses reported as of Monday and 39.91 percent of the total rice standing crops of the Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions, which is 995,218 hectares.

Meanwhile, flood waters in most towns of Pampanga are slowly receding but 72 barangays are still flooded.

Nine barangays in Macabebe, 12 in Masantol, four in Minalin and 11 in San Luis were also flooded due to high tide and overflowing of the Pampanga River.

Authorities said 4,079 families are still in evacuation centers.