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INITIAL
damage assessments from the fury of Typhoon Frank placed
total loss from crops at some P555 million, according to
the Department of Agriculture (DA), or more than double
earlier assessments of officials. The crops represent
plantings in 246,441 hectares of palay and other crops
in Western Visayas and 12 provinces elsewhere.
DA data
show that as of Monday, June 23, damaged rice hectarage
was 242,213 hectares of the total, with 1,064 hectares
of corn and 3,164 hectares of vegetables and high-value
commercial crops.
It broke
down the P555-million loss to farm inputs of nearly P152
million and indirect losses from the combined value of
the standing rice crops—computed at P17 a kilo, or
P17,000 per metric ton (MT), the National Food Authority
support price—to nearly P403 million.
Schools
were also ravaged considerably especially in Eastern
Visayas.
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said that some 47
schools were destroyed with costs estimated at P66
million.
“Repair
and rehabilitation works should proceed promptly so as
to minimize disruption in classes,” said Lapus, adding
the department’s estimate of losses in school buildings
is now over P100 million, involving 105 schools in all
typhoon-struck areas.
As for
the affected palay-growing areas, those which suffered
are the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Negros
Oriental, Leyte, Biliran, Samar, Northern and Eastern
Samar, and little in Nueva Ecija while the damaged corn
fields are in Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, Masbate, and
Cebu.
Damaged
areas planted to vegetables and high-value commercial
crops are in Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and
Quezon.
Western Visayas was the most seriously impaired by the typhoon with
losses estimated at about P409.434 million in rice on
229,512 hectares, about 1,748 hectares.
The DA
said, however, the volume of palay lost amounting to
17,784 MT will have a minimal impact on total production
for the July-September period representing only less
than one percent of the targeted 3.44 million MT for the
wet or main cropping season.
Estimated losses to livestock, poultry, and fisheries
are not yet available from the department. The losses
are expected to increase in the coming days as the DA
gets a more accurate picture of the extent of the damage
wrought by the typhoon.
The
schools damaged, on the other hand, were initially seen
to be mostly in affected in Central Luzon (Region 3)
with 30 structures needing either replacement or repair
estimated at P13.6 million, in Calabarzon [Region 4-A]
where seven school buildings suffered P15.6 million in
damages, and Mimaropa [Region 4-B] with 10 school damage
reaching about P5.2 million.
Total
losses to school buildings in the most affected region,
Western Visayas [Region 6] are still being assessed but
11 schools had been desolated.
Lapus
said that some 72 other schools in the affected regions
are being used as evacuation centers for some 1,246
families. (With Claudette Mocon) |
