NDCC puts Ondoy damage at P4.8-B, death toll at 277

Tropical storm "Ondoy" (international name Ketsana) caused an estimated P4.8 billion in damage across the Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said Thursday. In its latest report, the NDCC also pegged the number of fatalities to 277. The death toll is expected to rise pending reports from local government officials. The NDCC report also said five people were injured and 42 remain missing in the aftermath of Ondoy, which dumped heavy rainfall and triggered massive flooding in some of the country's most populated regions. The National Capital Region has the most number of fatalities: 48 in Marikina City, 44 in Quezon City, 17 in Pasig City, five in Valenzuela City, and three each in Muntinlupa, San Juan, and Mandaluyong cities. Three were reported to have died in the Cordillera Administrative Region, 47 in Central Luzon, and 104 in Region 4-A, which constitutes the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. However, statistics obtained by GMANews.TV from other government sources would place the death toll at more than 350 if combined with the NDCC tally. Telephone interviews with regional police officials, health officers, and disaster coordinators showed that at least 339 people have been reported killed by Ondoy in the same areas monitored by the NDCC. Even without available data from San Juan City, the death toll in Metro Manila as gathered by GMANews.TV is still higher by seven people compared to the NDCC count. In the Calabarzon region, 176 people died in the storm, according to GMANews.TV's tally.

According to the NDCC, more than half a million people - or 686,699 persons to be exact - were affected and are now staying at 726 evacuation centers. The extent of damage was broken down as follows: P1.59 billion for infrastructure and P3.216 for agriculture. A total of 4,644 houses were damaged, more than half of them totally destroyed. Last Saturday, Ondoy brought unprecedented rainfall in the metropolis of 341 millimeters in the first six hours alone, breaking the record for the highest 24-hour rainfall of 334 mm in Metro Manila in June 1967. On Thursday, five days after the storm, many communities remain under water and evacuees have been complaining about the slow government response to the disaster. [See: Five days after storm, many communities are still flooded] - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV