TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Typhoon Lawin left the rice granary of the Cordillera with more than one billion persos worth of damage, the bulk of which are on agriculture and government infrastructure.
A partial report from the Office of the City Agricultural Services (OCAS) as of 11 AM of October 28 reflects around Php975,604,264.20 damage in crops, where rice production incurred the most with Php454,908,675.00 with at least a total of 87.5 hectares rice fields totally destroyed due to siltation, erosion and submersion in floods.
Damaged High Value Commercial Crops (HVCC) was estimated to be around Php420,127,590.00. These include coffee, fruit trees and vegetables.
For commercial corn, farmers have reported a loss of at least P97,656,000.00, while the fishery section have estimated its damage to be around P2,911,999.20.
The City Veterinary Office in their monitoring have recorded a partial loss in the livestock section to be around Php4,123,250.00, while damage on government infrastructure is estimated to be around Php60,985,800.00.
After ravaging the city with a category five typhoon storm warning signal, the Tabuk City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) monitored that the Chico River had breached the five meter maximum level as of six in the morning of October 20. This resulted in the flooding of rice fields, farm lands and several residential areas along its way.
As 10 AM of October 28, the Tabuk CDRRMC consolidated report shows that they had achieved their zero casualty target after they force-evacuated at least 1,876 families residing in high risk areas.
Twelve people were reported to have incurred minor injuries during the typhoon.
All 42 barangays of Tabuk were affected, directly affecting around 11,008 families due to damaged houses, lost livestock and crops. CDRRMC reports show that said number was consolidated from the barangays and could still change upon validation.
Before the typhoon, Tabuk City Mayor Ferdinand Tubban convened the CDRRMC and ordered the force evacuation of residents in all the flood and landslide prone areas. He also declared October 19 and 20 as non-working holidays as part of the pre-emptive measure.**By Geraldine G. Dumallig/City Information Office
