Haiyan damage at P10B; death toll now 3,976

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The total cost of damage caused by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) breached the P10-billion mark, 9 days after it ravaged central Philippines, while the official death toll climbed to 3,976.

As of 6 pm Sunday, November 17, the estimated total cost of damage from Yolanda was at P10.339 billion, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) – the same estimate indicated in the Sunday morning update.

The death toll rose to 3,976, with 18,175 people reported injured and 1,590 missing. (READ: After the rain, firemen bury corpses)

The storm, which rendered almost the entire Eastern Visayas region cut off from communication and power, has so far caused at least P9.089 billion worth of damage to agriculture, and P1.250 billion worth of damage to infrastructure, according to the NDRRMC report.

Among 14 previous Signal No. 4 storms in Philippine history, two storms had also caused damage of more than P10 billion – Typhoon Rosing (international codename Angela) in 1995 at P10.799B and Typhoon Juan (international codename Megi) in 2010 at P11.528B. (READ: Storm signal no.4 in PH history)

Leyte water supply ‘sufficient’

As massive relief efforts for affected areas were jumpstarted over the past few days, NDRRMC said the water supply for the province of Leyte – one of the hardest hit areas – was already “sufficient” as of Friday, November 15. 

However, some areas across the typhoon zone, such as the town of Barbaza in Antique, as well as areas in Capiz and Iloilo, still don’t have enough water supplies. 

A total of P119,202,306.25 worth of relief assistance has been poured into disaster-stricken provinces, as of Sunday, NDRRMC said. 

Meanwhile, foreign aid has reached P5.4 billion or US$126.8 million as of Friday. (READ: Inside the Haiyan international relief base)

According to NDRRMC, at least 22,730 personnel, 1,285 vehicles, 77 seacraft, 110 aircraft and 27,237 “assets” have been deployed in the aftermath of the storm. 

Yolanda’s strength left entire towns, including Tacloban City in Leyte, and Guiuan in Eastern Samar, in ruins. As of Sunday, at least 543,127 houses were reported partially or entirely damaged. 

As of Sunday evening, 2,182,312 families or 10,174,296 persons continue to be affected in 10,312 barangays in 44 provinces, 574 municipalities and 57 cities.

Although the number of affected families increased since the morning bulletin, the number of those who evacuated remained the same in the latest report.

Aid monitor

A total of 23 foreign medical teams are presently assisting in relief efforts in the Visayas region, according to NDRRMC. 

As of Sunday, at least 285,007 food and rice packs, 40,144 liters of water, 13,100 high energy biscuits have been distributed to 273,251 families in Region VIII, NDRRMC said. 

In the wake of criticism regarding the slow delivery of aid to typhoon victims, the United Nations admitted it was “distressed” that relief efforts have not reached all victims on Day 6 of the calamity. 

President Benigno Aquino III is expected to return to Tacloban City Sunday to oversee aid operations in the area. – Rappler.com