'Carina' death toll now at 39; affected persons reach 4.8 million

MANILA, Philippines — The death toll from the combined effects of Super Typhoon Carina (International name: Gaemi), the southwest monsoon and Tropical Cyclone Butchoy (International name: Prapiroon) has hit 39, with the number of affected persons rising to 4.8 million, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Tuesday. 

To put it in perspective, the NDRRMC estimated that the number of people affected during Super Typhoon "Karding" in 2022 was pegged at 1.4 million in its last situation report on the natural disaster. 

Of the 39 deaths recorded, 14 have been validated and 25 are still being validated. There are still six people missing and nine others injured. 

On the other hand, there are 4,839,002 individuals affected, with 108,083 people still being served inside evacuation centers. Central Luzon registered the most number of people affected, with over 3 million individuals impacted by the weather disturbance.

The number of affected farmers and fisherfolk is now at 23,580, with over 25,723.64 hectares of crop area affected. The affected crop areas total to a production loss of more than P.5 billion or P545,216,362.54. 

Damage to infrastructure is now at P4.26 billion, with Central Luzon again being the hardest hit with P1.6 billion worth of damage to infrastructure. 

There were also 2,005 houses that were either partially or totally destroyed, which amounted to P2.6 million in costs.  

The NDRRMC said that 64 roads and seven roads are still not passable, with 31 of these roads being in the Ilocos Region. Power remains interrupted for 12 cities and municipalities.

"Carina" dumped record amounts of rainfall in the Philippines in the latter part of July, as it exacerbated the southwest monsoon.