Courtesy of City Government of Zamboanga
MANILA — At least 10 people were killed in the country due to recent floods and heavy rains, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday.
Five people died in Bicol, 4 in Northern Mindanao and 1 in Davao Region, Office of Civil Defense Joint Information Office head Diego Agustin Mariano told ANC's "Rundown".
Two people remain missing while 4 were reported injured, he added.
In an earlier ANC interview, the Northern Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported 2 fatalities in the towns of Laoang and San Isidro.
The rain and flooding also affected around 106,000 families or 438,000 individuals, Mariano said. Of the figure, some 2,000 families or 8,000 individuals are staying in evacuation centers or living with their relatives.
Cost of damage to agriculture is estimated at P142 million, the NDRRMC said. Damage to infrastructure has reached P165 million, it added.
According to state weather bureau PAGASA, a low pressure area and shear line are affecting parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
The LPA was spotted 380 kilometers east of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte as of 3 a.m. Thursday.
Bad weather has plagued the country's southern and central islands since the Christmas weekend when downpours triggered flooding and landslides that left 52 people dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
The Philippines is ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, and scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer.
— With a report from Agence France-Presse