3 storms leave 12 dead, P2.33B damage

MORE than 3.5 million Filipinos were affected by Typhoons Nika, Ofel and Pepito, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has reported. The death toll has risen to 12, while 14 people were injured and 3 were missing. The agency said 3,507,920 people or 939,936 families were affected by the typhoons. Damage to infrastructure was placed at P2,032,677,190. For agriculture the estimate was P29,507,934.91. Twenty-nine cities and towns declared a state of calamity. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it has provided about 2 million boxes of family food packs (FFPs) to local government units (LGUs) affected by Typhoons Kristine, Leon, Ofel, Marce, Nika, and Pepito. During a media forum Thursday, DSWD spokesman Irene Dumlao said the agency continued to distribute FFPs for prepositioning while giving more relief aid. "While we are producing food packs in our major production hubs in Pasay City and Cebu, we are continuously providing and releasing more food packs as part of our augmentation assistance to LGUs," Dumlao said. Kristine and Leon's affected areas received the majority of the 1,956,942 delivered food packs, totaling 1,451,593. In addition, more than 390,000 food packs were sent to regions hit by Nika, Pepito, and Ofel, while over 100,000 food packs were distributed to LGUs affected by Marce. Dumlao said that the DSWD seeks to finish all augmentation assistance for affected LGUs by Sunday, Nov. 24. The DSWD has standby funds of P130.9 million and a stockpile worth P940.2 million.