CABANATUAN CITY – Typhoon Santi destroyed over P3 billion in infrastructure and crops, mostly palay, even as the restoration of electricity here and in the entire province is expected to take “several days.”
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that Santi which hit this agricultural province with strong winds Friday night damaged at least 160,532.22 hectares or 20 percent of Nueva Ecija’s rice production this season with an estimated yield loss of P2,729,047,740.
On cash crops, the typhoon devastated some 300 hectares of corn amounting to P10,500,00 and 7,000 hectares of high value crops or vegetables, amounting to P157,500,000 were damaged.
Abraham Pascua, provincial director of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Nueva Ecija and co-chair of the PDRRMC, said the evaluation was a result of coordination among chiefs of various national and local government offices who personally managed response and assessment efforts.
There was no report available yet on livestock though. At least P265-million worth of infrastructure was also damaged, Pascua said. “Electric posts were severely damaged in different cities and municipalities which may render most if not the whole province without electricity for several days,” according to the PDRRMC.
Besides the four people earlier reported killed, at least 1,231 people from 325 families, mostly from this city, were affected by the disaster, it added.
Senior Supt. Crizaldo Nieves, Nueva Ecija police director, said that policemen have joined the military, local government employees and engineering personnel to fast track clearing operations in various road networks that were rendered impassable by fallen huge trees.
