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TYPHOON
Cosme veered away from the country on Monday but not
after killing 12 people and injuring nine others, the
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.
The
storm, that cut a swath of destruction in Northern and
Central Luzon and other parts of the country over the
weekend hit hard the provinces of Pangasinan and
Zambales, affected an estimated 30,000 people.
The NDCC
said that three of the four fatalities from Pangasinan
were Rosario Luiti, 20; Jessa Ducusin, 15; and Pepito
Estacio, 78, who all died after they were hit by blown
galvanized-iron (GI) sheets.
The
fourth victim died of drowning.
Electric
distributors on Pangasinan estimated that full power
restoration may be done only after two months owing to
the destruction of major powerlines and other
facilities.
The NDCC
earlier reported that half of Pangasinan, the entire
western portion, and several other parts of the province
were without power, while blackouts were reported in
several areas in the provinces of La Union, Zambales,
and in Baguio City.
In La
Union, officials said Juanita Eserio, and Leopoldo
Labasan, 37, died after they were hit by flying GI
sheets. The third victim, Domingo Obungen, was pinned
down by a wall that collapsed.
In
Benguet, Joseph Palala perished when he was hit by
falling rocks while fixing the water system of his
house. In Zambales, Benjamin Admana died after suffering
a heart attack at the height of the storm.
In
Antique and Negros Occidental, Leo Amar, Marilyn
Oleverio, 15, and Melanie Elardes, also died of
drowning.
The NDCC
said that of the nine injured, five are from Baguio
City, two from Pangasinan, and one each from La Union
and Zambales.
Officials also reported that at least 3,209 houses from
storm-affected provinces in Ilocos, Central Luzon,
Southern Tagalog and the
Cordilleras were destroyed, while 5,586 others are partially damaged.
So far,
the NDCC said at least 6,780 families or 34,755 persons
have been affected by the storm. However, only 65
families, or 308 persons, remained in evacuation
centers.
The
military’s Northern Luzon Command has directed troops
from the 24th Infantry Battalion “to conduct
search-and-rescue operations and provide assistance to
the affected families” in Iba, Zambales.
Cosme
was forecast to be outside the Philippines and is
expected to hit southeast of Okinawa, Japan, on Tuesday.
In
Baguio City, the City Camp Lagoon experienced waist-high
flood on Sunday. In most areas of the city, power has
yet to be restored by the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco)
after strong winds and fallen trees damaged transmission
facilities.
Baguio City
is also experiencing intermittent interruption of the
services of the telephone companies serving the city.
As of
press time, Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan could not
estimate the damage to agricultural crops, but assured
that the prices of vegetables will not skyrocket in the
next few days.
“Vegetable prices will remain stable although trucks on
their way to other parts of Luzon, and Manila are
stranded on Halsema Highway,” he said. (With I. Abaño
and J. Manaois) |
