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THE
official death toll of Typhoon Cosme rose to 13 as the
weather disturbance left the country.
The
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said eight
were killed in Ilocos, one in Central Luzon, three in
Eastern Visayas and one in the Cordillera Administrative
Region.
At least
6,111 houses were totally damaged while 7,159 sustained
partial damage.
The NDCC
said a total of 529 barangays and 79,377 families, or
416,697 persons were affected. At least 235 families or
1,300 persons are still at evacuation centers as of
Tuesday morning.
At 4:00
a.m. on Tuesday, the storm was plotted at 1,160
kilometers east- northeast of Basco, Batanes, or 530
kilometers east of Okinawa, Japan.
At the
same time, damage to the agricultural crops caused by
the storm reached close to P170 million, according to
figures released by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Emmanuel Paras
noted that as of Monday afternoon, the biggest damage
was suffered by the high-value commercial crops sector,
with losses reaching P83.10 million.
Some 181
hectares planted to fruit trees and vegetables, of which
176 hectares have no chance of recovery.
Damaged
mango trees in Pangasinan, which was directly hit by the
typhoon, totaled P60 million. Losses in mango
plantations in La Union and Zambales reached P14
million, and P0.5 million, respectively.
Vegetables in Benguet and
Mountain
Province
valued at P 8.5 million and papaya in Zambales worth P
100,000 were also reported lost during the typhoon.
Paras
said that damage to palay crops was valued at P2.3
million in Pangasinan, where a total of 65 hectares was
affected.
Some 203
MT of palay from an area of 50 hectares in the
reproductive stage were reported lost. About 15 hectares
in the vegetative stage have chances of recovery but
investment of farmers worth about P95,500 was lost.
Paras
said the damage to corn crops was placed at P687,500
from the 50 hectares planted to corn in its vegetative
stage in Pangasinan.
Damage
to livestock was valued at P432,000. Reported lost
include poultry (800), swine (71), and cattle (11) all
in the province of Zambales, he said.
Damage
to the fisheries subsector was still being assessed as
of press time.
The
total damage to the farm sector caused by the typhoon
could go up because Pangasinan is known as one of the
major aquaculture producers in the country.
Meanwhile, the DA said it is now developing alternative
planting sites in Central and Southern Luzon to ensure
the steady supply of vegetables amid the onset of the
rainy season, especially after the weather bureau has
predicted that the country will be hit by at least 20
tropical storms this year.
Because
60 percent of the vegetable supply of Metro Manila comes
from Northern Luzon, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap
said temporary delivery disruptions and price movements
are to be expected when tropical storms hit these
regions.
Vegetable supply remains stable at present, he said, so
there is no reason for prices to go up in retail
markets.
“Although there may be disruptions in delivery of one to
two days due to the clearing of roads after the typhoon,
this should not be used as an opportunity by retailers
to jack up their prices. That’s already profiteering on
their part,” said Yap.
He said
the DA is now developing areas in Regions 4-A and 4-B
(Southern Luzon) and Central Luzon as alternative sites
for production and delivery in the coming months for
off-season vegetables to guarantee the steady supply of
these food staples in Metro Manila. |
