(Northern Samar Provincial Information Office)
CATARMAN, Northern Samar-The province of Northern Samar was placed under a state of calamity on Monday (Jan.16) due to the damages it sustained from the heavy rains spawned by a trough of a low pressure area (LPA).
The declaration of a state of calamity was made official through a resolution approved by the provincial board on Monday upon the recommendation of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) chaired by Gov. Edwin Ongchuan.
The continuous heavy rainfall, experienced by the province last week, resulted in flooding and landslide incidents affecting 55,789 families comprising 238,322 individuals, report from Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) said.
It also said that the calamity also damaged various roads and bridges with a cost of P420 million and another P104.6 million losses in its agriculture sector.
The heavy rains also resulted in the deaths of two persons, one was a soldier who crossing a river in San Isidro town to help rescue flood victims in the said area.
With the declaration, the provincial government could now use its calamity fund to help the affected families.
The provincial government through its social welfare office has earlier distributed food packs and other essentials to the families affected by flooding across the province.
Northern Samar is the second province in Eastern Visayas which declared a state of calamity.
Last Jan.6, the province of Eastern Samar was placed under a state of calamity due to the massive damages it sustained due to the LPA-induced heavy rains to include the sustained rains it experienced last December 24 due to the effect of a shear line.
The province as reported by Gov. Ben Evardone affected 72,197 families consisting of 249,022 individuals and damaged its infrastructures and crops at a total cost of P226 million.
Two persons from its provincial capital of Borongan also died related to the calamity after their boat capsized due to the heavy rains.
(EUGENE M. ENANO)
