Pinoys affected by Kabayan, shear line climb to 380,000

MANILA, Philippines — At least 385,000 individuals have been affected by the torrential rains brought by the shear line and "Kabayan," which was downgraded to a low-pressure area earlier this week before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Wednesday.

According to the latest situational report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), over 100,000 families from six regions have been affected by the combined effects of the shear line and “Kabayan.” 

Heavy rains due to the shear line are expected to continue until Saturday, according to the forecast of the state weather bureau.

Those who have been affected by the two weather conditions hail from the MIMAROPA region, Western and Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, the Davao region and CARAGA.   

The NDRRMC said that the number of totally damaged houses has also climbed from 40 to 135, while partially damaged houses increased from 1,387 to 1,808. 

As families prepare to head to provinces for the holiday celebrations next week, four seaports still remain non-operational due to damages caused by the rough sea conditions. Three non-operational seaports are in CARAGA while one is in MIMAROPA.

The NDRRMC said that over 1,500 passengers in seaports remain stranded, most of which are in Western Visayas, which now has nine fully restored and fully operational seaports.

State weather bureau PAGASA said on Thursday that the weather for most of the holidays until January 1 will remain cloudy with occasional rain showers over different areas of the country.