85 dead in floods; over 3-M affected

MANILA, Philippines – A total of 85 people have been reported dead in the floods that submerged most of Metro Manila and parts of surrounding provinces this week, the government said on Sunday, August 12.

In its 5 a.m. situation update, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that 62 of the victims drowned and 12 were buried by landslides, including the 9 who perished in Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City.

Three died from heart attack, 2 were electrocuted, 2 more were crushed by fallen trees, and the cause of one fatality is still undetermined.

Like in its last report, the higher tally is mostly due to the NDRRMC reporting deaths that occurred earlier in the week from areas outside of Metro Manila, rather than new fatalities.

Ten people were injured, 8 are still missing and 62,846 were rescued.

Over 3-M affected

As of Sunday morning, a total of 3,067,500 people from 16 provinces and the National Capital Region (NCR) have been affected by the southwest monsoon floods.

Some 768,989 are now living inside or outside evacuation centers provided by the government.

“There has been a minor increase in the total number of families affected, while there is a significant decrease of evacuation centers as evacuees are expected to return to their homes as the damaging effects of heavy rains subside,” the NDRRMC said in a statement.

Cost of damage

The damage to infrastructure and agriculture in Regions I, III, IV-A, IV-B and NCR stood at P585.065 million and P19,561 million, respectively.

On top of these, 8,428 houses were partially or totally destroyed.

However, out of the 82 cities and municipalities affected by heavy monsoon rain, the number of flooded areas “significantly decreased” in 18 of them, including the cities of Manila, Pasig, Navotas and Malabon, the NDRRMC said. – Rappler.com

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Everyone is encouraged to help out. Check this list of evacuation centers and relief operations in Metro Manila for places near you.

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