THE province of Batanes remained largely isolated and some areas of Pampanga are still swamped in flood waters, the government said on Sunday, as it sustained the relief efforts in the aftermath of the twin typhoons that lashed Luzon and the Visayas, killing at least 17 people.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that telecommunication signals in four of the six towns and municipalities of Batanes are still down. Floods in some areas of Pampanga, including the 17 villages of Macabebe, have not subsided yet as a result of the heavy rains brought by Typhoon Kiko.
Landslides were also reported in some areas of La Union and in Apayao, still due to the typhoon which pummeled Northern and Central Luzon, affecting at least 2,780 families or 11,145 individuals while forcing the preemptive evacuation of 1,742 families or 5,112 persons.
The NDRRMC said that while Kiko spawned flooding and landslides, minimal damage was initially reported, in contrast with Typhoon Jolina which has killed 17 people, although most of the casualties are still being verified. At least 24 others have also been reported injured and seven others are still missing.
Jolina affected mostly Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog and Bicol region and Regions 6, 7 and 8 where severe flooding occurred in Laguna and in Leyte, Samar and Antique.
As of Sunday, the NDRRMC said Jolina has damaged at least P628,041,674 in the area of agriculture while another P57, 261,053 in the area of infrastructure. At least 8,924 houses were also damaged, most of them in Region 8.
At least 81,048 families or 313,373 individuals were affected while another 3,367 families or 13, 061 persons were preemptively evacuated.