Officers help clear roads in Quirino after typhoon Pepito. Philippine National Police/Facebook 

MANILA — Authorities in Quirino province on Monday cleared uprooted trees and debris as they began assessing the damage left by typhoon Pepito over the weekend. 

“Hindi kami makapasok from national highway to provincial road, lalo sa mga interior, so inuuna muna namin yung clearing para maka-access po kami,” said the province’s disaster office head Jesus Leal. 

Pepito on Sunday was still a super typhoon when it made its second landfall in neighboring Aurora province, but was downgraded to a typhoon category as it traversed the mountainous island.

“Salamat po sa Diyos at kami po ay nakapaligid ng Sierra Madre, proteksyon po namin sa Quirino yung Sierra Madre,” Leal told TeleRadyo Serbisyo. 

Heavy rains still possible as Pepito moves away from Luzon

Some 1,161 families or about 3.820 people fled to evacuation centers in Quirino, she said. 

At least 13 roads were flooded while some bridges were damaged, the officer added. 

“Yung iba dito, meron pa doon sa Nika [na pinsala]. Hindi pa naaayos sa Nika, then here comes Pepito, so lalong na-aggravate,” Leal said. 

She said Pepito also left heavy agricultural damage. 

“Malaki po sa agriculture [ang pinsala], lalo na yung mga saging namin, lalong nawala. Imbes na mayroon kang kaunting nakatayo after Nika, lalo namang nawala na, natuluyan sa Pepito. Yun ang isang malaking pangkabuhayan natin sa Quirino,” Leal said. 

“May kaunti pa kaming nasirang palay, buti maagang nakapag-harvest ang mga farmers natin.” 

“Naka-ready naman po yung ating LGU for support,” Leal said. 

Pepito was the sixth storm in the past month to batter the archipelago nation. At least 163 people died in the previous storms, which left thousands homeless and wiped out crops and livestock.

NASA: Philippines’ overlapping cyclones ‘unusual’


About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.

Pepito hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season -- most cyclones develop between July and October.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse