THE death toll from Typhoon Ompong has risen to 81, while 70 people remained missing and 71 others were injured, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday, September 19.
As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, the PNP Operations Center reported that 66 of the fatalities were from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), 10 from Cagayan Valley, two each from Central Luzon and National Capital Region (NCR), and one from Ilocos.
Of the missing persons, 66 were from CAR, two each from Ilocos and NCR.
The number of fatalities continues to climb as rescuers recover more bodies from Barangay Ucab, Itogon, Benguet, where a major landslide occurred at the height of the storm's onslaught. Dozens of people were believed buried following the mudslide.
Earlier, PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr. said if the weather and circumstances will permit them, search, retrieval and recovery operation will continue until the last landslide victim is accounted for.
Meantime, the number of families who are still staying in evacuation centers totaled to 3,782 families or 14,085 individuals, police said.
These families were from the CAR, Central Luzon and Ilocos where some areas are still flooded.
The PNP assured the public, though, that a sufficient number of police forces was deployed for the maintenance of peace and order and for the security of the affected population.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 264,304 families or 1,096,799 individuals were affected by the typhoon.
The NDRRMC said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed over P46 million worth of assistance to the affected population, particularly in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), NCR and CAR.
It said the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ifugao, Kalinga, Cagayan and Quirino and the cities of Isabela and Tuguegarao were placed under state of calamity in order to extend the assistance provided to the affected population and impose the price freeze to protect consumers.
The PNP said it will also help in the enforcement of Department of Trade and Industry regulations against hoarding, profiteering and illegal trade practices. (SunStar Philippines)