The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that 51 individuals died from the rains and severe flooding during the Christmas season.
The NDRRMC also added that 19 people remain missing. The state weather bureau PAGASA earlier said the intense rains during Christmas season were because of the shear line and the Northeast Monsoon or amihan.
The rains affected areas in Eastern Visayas, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Camiguin, Southern Palawan, as well as some parts of Mindanao during the Christmas weekend, ABS-CBN News reported.
Further, the NDRRMC said a total of 149,957 families or 595,693 individuals were affected by the shear line in 966 barangays across the country, noting that 2,811 families or 8,666 individuals remain in evacuation centers as of Monday.
The NDRRMC said assistance worth P48.49 million was provided to affected individuals. Meanwhile, 4,540 houses were reported damaged, 3,704 of which were
“partially damaged” while 836 were “totally destroyed.”
Damage to infrastructure was pegged at P1.13 billion, while damage to agriculture was estimated to be at P243.03 million.
The Department of Education (DepEd) meanwhile reported that P363 million worth of damage in schools were recorded in several schools in Mindanao due to the rains and floods brought by the shear line and low pressure area (LPA).
Based on the agency’s education cluster report as of December 30, 2022, 36 schools based in Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga sustained infrastructure damage.
Twenty-five of these schools were in Northern Mindanao, 10 in Caraga, and one in Zamboanga Peninsula, GMA \ News reported.
An estimated P363.50 million would be needed for the repair and reconstruction of these learning institutions, according to DepEd.
DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa, quoted by the GMA News report, said there were no learners who reportedly died or went missing due to the effects of the shear line and LPA.
However, eight students sustained injuries, while 2,548 others were displaced. There were 51 schools also being used as evacuation centers as of Friday, but Poa said that the figure is already “probably lower” on Monday.
“On the part of DepEd, we will be providing response interventions to affected schools, learners and personnel,” Poa said in a message to reporters.
A total of 51 individuals reportedly died due to the shear line rains since the Christmas weekend, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday.
Damage to infrastructure worth P1.137 billion and to agriculture worth P243.029 million were reported due to the rains and floods. The National Irrigation Administration also reported over P2 million of damage.