A week after Typhoon Karding hit Luzon, some 46,452 people remain displaced, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Sunday.
The NDRRMC said of the displaced, 3,098 are staying in 26 evacuation centers, while the rest are located elsewhere.
Over a million people or close to 300,000 families across Luzon have been affected by the typhoon that left 12 people dead. At least 52 people were injured while five remain missing.
Some 58,172 houses were damaged by the typhoon, of which 7,150 were totally wrecked.
Meanwhile, two weather systems – the easterlies and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) – will bring rain over some areas of the country, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Sunday.
The weather bureau said the eastern sections of Luzon and Visayas particularly Isabela, Aurora, Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to easterlies.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country, particularly the southern portion of Mindanao, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to easterlies and ITCZ.
Damage to agriculture from Karding was placed at P3.076 billion, with 104,500 farmers affected, while damage to infrastructure stood at more than P304.2 million.
For its part, the Department of Labor and Employment has initially allocated P455.6 million for the ongoing implementation of its emergency employment program in Central Luzon and Calabarzon in the wake of Karding’s destruction.
Through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, informal sector workers in the said regions are employed for a minimum period of 10 days to assist in clearing, cleaning, de-clogging of canals, debris segregation, materials recovery, and other activities needed in the rehabilitation of their communities.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma assured the provision of additional TUPAD funds if the initial allocation is not sufficient.
DOLE Central Luzon Regional Director Geraldine Panlilio said 14,000 beneficiaries are currently engaged under the program, while 29,000 others are set to be employed next week.