Supertyphoon Uwan (Fung-Wong) has exited Luzon after slamming into Aurora province and parts of Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and Ilocos regions, leaving behind two casualties.
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) assistant secretary Raffy Alejandro in a 6:30 AM briefing on Monday reported that a Vigan City, Ilocos Sur resident died of drowning while another died from a collapsed structure in Catbalogan City, Samar on Sunday.
Uwan made landfall at Dinalungan, Aurora province at 9:10 PM with sustained winds of around 185 km/h (115mph) and gusts of 230km/h (143mph).
Its strong winds however started dissipating once its eye wall made contact with Luzon’s Sierra Madre.
The Philippines’ strongest typhoon this year, it exited Luzon landmass before dawn this morning via La Union province.
The OCD said as many as 1.4 million indviduals, or 426,000 families evacuated in the National Capital, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, MiMaRoPa, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, and Negros Island regions.
Based on Department of Interior and Local Government data, OCD said 6,000 evacuation centers took in 318,000 evacuees before the storm hit the country.
As of Monday morning, OCD said it received reports of 1,000 houses damaged by strong winds and storm surges in the affected regions.
Alejandro said that while they have received reports of damaged infrastructure as well as damages on agriculture, these are still undergoing validation.
He added that 132 barangays have been flooded, coastal areas near the path of the storm also suffered storm surges.
The OCD said northern Aurora is isolated from the rest of the province due to landslides.
Together with the Department of Social Work and Development, the OCD said it is prepared to distribute P2.6 billion worth of food items in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, Bayang Matulungin announced it is ready to accept donations for its relief operations once the strong winds and floods have dissipated.
Bayang Matulungin is the humanitarian arm of Bayan Muna Party. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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Those who wish to donate through Bayang Matulungin may contact 0932 117 5586.
