NDRRMC: 11 reported dead, 6 missing due to Karding

The number of reported fatalities due to Typhoon Karding has increased to 11, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Thursday.

Based on the data from the NDRRMC, the following are the eight deaths that have been verified so far:

• five fatalities, who are rescuers, in San Miguel, Bulacan due to drowning
• one in Baliuag, Bulacan due to drowning
• one in Zambales due to drowning
• one person in Burdeos, Quezon

Meanwhile, the reports on the following fatalities have yet to be verified, according to the NDRRMC:

• one death in Zambales due to a motorcycle accident
• one in Antipolo, Rizal due to drowning
• one in Tanay, Rizal due to drowning

The NDRRMC also reported that five fishermen in Mercedes, Camarines Norte and one person in Antipolo, Rizal were missing due to the typhoon.

In its report, the NDRRMC said 640,963 people or 176,337 families were  affected by Karding in 1,372 barangays in Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, and Cordillera.

Of the affected population, 25,177 people or 6,435 families are staying inside 391 evacuation centers, while 15,286 individuals or  3,482 families are taking shelter in other places.

Also, a total of 23,151 families or 91,169 people were pre-emptively evacuated.

A total of 20,628 houses sustained damage—18,110 partially and 2,518 totally—in Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, and Cordillera due to Karding.

The NDRRMC said 35 cities and municipalities were declared under the State of Calamity including the entire province of Nueva Ecija as well as Dingalan in Aurora, Macabebe in Pampanga, and San Miguel in Bulacan.

A total of P152,209,851 worth of damage in agriculture was reported in Ilocos, Calabarzon, Bicol, and Cordillera.

For infrastructure, damage worth P23,447,400 was reported in Ilocos, Mimaropa, Bicol, and Cordillera.

A total of 67 ports suspended trips but 61 of them have resumed operations in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol. A total of 613 passengers, 190 rolling cargoes, five vessels, and a motorbanca are still stranded in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the National Capital Region.

The NDRRMC said 116 cities and municipalities experienced power interruptions, of which, power supply in 62 areas were already restored.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Thursday said it has restored the transmission line to Nueva Ecija 1 Electric Cooperative (NEECO 1).

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said the NEECO I is the last electric cooperative that was down due to Typhoon Karding.

“Around 3  to 4 o'clock ng hapon kahapon, na-restore na namin yung last area po na walang transmission services, ito po yung NEECO I,” she said.

(Around 3  to 4 o'clock in the afternoon yesterday, we restored the last area that has no transmission services, this is NEECO I.)

She clarified that the restoration of transmission lines to cooperatives does not mean the power supply in households is also back, as cooperatives may also have issues with their lines to their customers that they need to fix.

NEECO I serves the municipalities of Jaen, Cabiao, San Antonio, San Isidro, and the City of Gapan. — RSJ, GMA News