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Agricultural damage caused by Super Typhoon Karding has reached nearly 3 billion pesos, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Friday, as the Bulacan governor suspended mining and quarrying activities in the province after flash floods killed five local rescuers at the height had of the storm.
The death toll from the typhoon reached 12, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Friday after residents of Tanay and Antipolo, both in Rizal province, joined the victims.
The number of people affected by Karding rose to 911,404, or the equivalent of 245,063 families across seven regions, the agency added.
These individuals are from 1,759 villages in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Cordillera Region.
Only 921 families are currently sheltering in 27 evacuation centers while the rest are returning home or sheltering with family and friends, NDRRMC added.
The Department of Education (DepEd) also said it needs 1.17 billion pesos to repair 165 schools damaged by karting.
In addition, 396 other schools were “totally damaged” and 92 schools were still being used as evacuation centers for disaster victims, DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said in a briefing.
Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said consumers should brace for higher rice and vegetable prices, which could rise by 15% to 20% as carding harvests flattened.
The total value of agricultural production lost due to the typhoon stood at 2.95 billion pesos as of 8am yesterday, based on estimates by the prosecutor’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DRRM) — up from 2.02 billion pesos in losses since Thursday recorded.
Karding has flattened crops on 164,217 hectares of farmland in the Cordillera Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region and Western Visayas, killing 103,552 farmers and fishermen with a total production loss of 154,734 tonnes (MT) concerned. said the prosecutor.
Rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries were all affected, along with damage to farm infrastructure, machinery, and equipment.
In Bulacan, Gov. Daniel Fernando said he would issue an executive order suspending mining and quarrying as the province is expected to suffer at least P3 billion in agricultural damage from carding.
“It is time to take care of and protect our environment. So now, by executive order, we will not allow quarrying or mining,” Fernando said during the memorial service for the rescuers at Capitol Gymnasium here, without elaborating.
The anti-mining executive order was signed on Aug. 25, the governor said, stressing the importance of its implementation.
The hardest-hit areas are towns in the third district – San Miguel, San Rafael, San Ildefonso and Doña Remedio Trinidad, Fernando told ABS-CBN News hours after the typhoon left Bulacan.
For DepEd, Poa said the department has been working to acquire disaster-resilient classrooms through its coordination with the private sector and other organizations.
He said the DepEd, with help from the Department for Public Works and Highways (DPWH), will incorporate disaster resilience into the new design of schools.
Spokesman for DepEd Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Reynold Munsayac, said she offered her condolences and prayers to the family of Karding’s victims who died.
Damage to rice crops reached 2.02 billion pesos on 159,251 hectares of affected fields, with a total volume loss of 133,294 tons — 0.66% of the total annual rice production volume target of 20.25 million tons, the department said.
Valuable crops — fruits, vegetables, legumes and spices — worth 754.8 million pesos were also lost to the storm, and the amount of crops destroyed was 18,536 tons on 2,964 hectares of farmland.
Corn volume of 2,634 tons, representing a production loss of 2,002 hectares worth P65.4 million, was also lost. It represents 0.05% of the total annual production target volume for the crop of 5.11 million tons, prosecutors said.
The fishery, including produce, boats and equipment suffered P75.2 million in damage. Livestock and poultry suffered 12.8 million pesos worth of losses as 48,183 livestock and poultry were killed during the typhoon.
Prosecutors said they will provide the following support for distribution to affected farmers and fishermen:
• Rice seed valued at P185.69 million, corn seed valued at P23.16 million and various vegetable seeds valued at P13.55 million
• Animal heads, medicines and biologics for livestock and poultry valued at 2.45 million pesos
• Juvenile fish and fishing supplies for affected fishermen from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
• Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) Survival and Recovery (SURE) loan program with a loan amount of up to P25,000 payable over three years with no interest
• P500 million Quick Response Fund (QRF) for rehabilitation of affected areas
• Mobile KADIWA centers to introduce to karting affected areas to stabilize prices and supply of agricultural fishery products
Karding left the Philippine area of responsibility on Monday.
NDRRMC spokesman Raffy Alejandro said Wednesday there were 10 initial deaths reported, including the five rescuers who died in a flash flood in San Miguel, Bulacan; a person who drowned after a dyke was destroyed in Cabangan, Zambales; another person died in a motorcycle accident on a flooded street in San Felipe, Zambales, and another person was buried in a landslide in Burdeos, Quezon province.
The disaster agency also announced that six other people are missing – five fishermen in Mercedes, Camarines Norte, and one in Patnanungan, Quezon province.
About 52 people were injured in Karding’s attack, the NDRRMC said. Fifty of them were recorded in Central Luzon and 2 from Calabarzon.
NDRRMC’s most recent tally also showed that more than 245,000 families – or 911,000 individuals – from the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Mimaropa and Cordillera Administrative Region have died from the wrath of the super Typhoon Karding were affected.
Of these, almost 40,000 families remain in evacuation centers.
The NDRRMC added that nearly 57,000 homes were affected by the super typhoon, with 50,000 damaged and nearly 7,000 destroyed.
NDRRMC said over 36.5 million pesos in aid have been distributed to Karding victims so far. Orlan Mauricio and Vito Barcelona
