By Martin Sadongdong
At least eight people have died and more than 752,000 others have been affected by the combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) and the recent tropical cyclones “Luis” and “Maymay,” the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Monday, Aug. 10.
The latest figures as of 6 a.m. showed 223,000 families, or 752,000 individuals, were affected across nine regions: Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Mimaropa (Region 4B), Bicol (Region 5), Western Visayas (Region 6), and Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9).
Two new fatalities were recorded, bringing the death toll to eight: one in Antipolo City, where a delivery rider was struck by a fallen tree, and another in Batangas City due to drowning.
Previously, the OCD reported that two cooks were killed in a landslide at a restaurant kitchen in La Trinidad, Benguet; two died in a rockslide in Rodriguez, Rizal; one was electrocuted in Lipa, Batangas; and another was killed in a landslide in Santa Teresita, Batangas.
The reported deaths did not yet include four fatalities from a landslide in Baguio City.
Police said 13 people were buried when a landslide struck three houses in Riverside, Guisad Surong, on Sunday, Aug. 9.
As of 5:35 a.m. Monday, seven people had been extracted: three rescued alive and taken to a hospital, while four were declared dead.
The fatalities were a 17‑year‑old female student, two nine‑year‑old students, and a 56‑year‑old man.
“We have yet to validate the reported casualties in Baguio,” OCD spokesperson Junie Castillo said.
The OCD also recorded nine injured individuals: seven in Benguet due to separate landslides in Baguio (different from Sunday’s incident) and La Trinidad, and a vehicular accident in Kapangan; one due to strong currents in Rizal; and one in Cavite due to a vehicular accident.
One fisherman was also reported missing in Batangas, according to the OCD.
The OCD said 412 evacuation centers were operating, sheltering about 10,000 families or 34,400 people.
Despite the scale of the affected population, Castillo said authorities had not yet seen a need for additional national resources.
“For our fellow Filipinos in evacuation centers, the good thing is that our local governments, as well as national government agencies, have prepositioned food and non‑food items. We have not seen any shortage,” Castillo said.
“As of the latest report, no local government has requested national intervention because the regional resources that have been prepositioned are still sufficient,” he added.
The weather disturbances also damaged at least 300 houses—276 partially and 24 totally destroyed.
Infrastructure damage was estimated at ₱1.12 billion, while agricultural losses stood at ₱3.53 million.
The government has provided ₱33.94 million in assistance to affected communities.
