207 towns, 29 cities under state of calamity due to Kristine, Leon

Two hundred seven towns and 29 cities in 14 provinces have declared a state of calamity due to the effects of tropical cyclones Kristine and Leon.

According to a report on "Saksi," the entire provinces of Albay, Batangas, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Cavite, Laguna,, Quezon, and Sorsogon have also declared a state of calamity.

The declaration of a state of calamity by a local government unit allows the release of calamity funds to address the needs of its constituency. Price controls on basic goods are also expected in the affected areas.

The Energy Regulatory Commission has instructed all distribution utilities to skip the disconnection of electricity services for customers that consumed 200 kilowatt hours or less in the areas under a state of calamity.

It also mandated flexible payment options for the electricity bills in October, November, and December.

According to PAGASA's tropical cyclone bulletin at 11 p.m. on Thursday, Typhoon Leon was about to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and all cyclone signals have been lifted.

The center of the eye of Typhoon Leon was estimated at 445 kilometers north northwest of Itbayat, Batanes packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 165 kph.

Leon is moving northwestward at the speed of 25 kph.

The weather bureau said moderate to heavy rainfall is expected in Batanes, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, and Calamian Islands.

PAGASA in its 11 p.m. bulletin said Leon was spotted Leon over Taiwan Strait and was forecast to exit the PAR in the next 6 hours.

"This tropical cyclone is expected to move northward in the next 12 hours then northeastward towards East China Sea for the rest of the forecast period. A second landfall over mainland China is not ruled out during this period," the agency added. 

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Thursday morning reported 150 deaths due to the two cyclones.

In its 8 a.m. report, the NDRRMC also said that 29 people were reported missing and 115 were reported injured.

Kristine and Leon have affected 7,494,023 people or 1,892,226 families in 17 regions. Most of them were reported in Bicol with 2,684,154 affected persons, followed by Central Luzon with 1,092,750 and Calabarzon with 752,793.

Of the total affected population, 330,649 people or 85,536 families were staying inside evacuation centers while 429,483 individuals or 87,617 families were taking shelter in other places.

Floods and landslides were reported in some affected areas, according to the NDRRMC.

A total of 150,511 houses were damaged —139,571 partially and 10,940 totally.

Damage to infrastructure worth P6,390,160,298 and to agriculture worth P2,867,718,759 were monitored. For irrigation facilities, P32,620,000 worth of damage was also reported. —NB, GMA Integrated News