MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Friday conducted an aerial inspection of Baybay City, Leyte province, one of the areas in Eastern Visayas battered by Tropical Depression Agaton this week.
Duterte also met with officials of concerned government agencies and local government units to assess the damage and visited the one-stop center for indigent patients, the Malasakit Center, at the Western Leyte Provincial Hospital.
Baybay City has been placed under a state of calamity due to massive landslides and flooding that killed more than 100 people.
The total fatalities reported in areas severely hit by “Agaton” climbed to 137, according to the 8 a.m. report released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Friday.
Of the total, 128 were from Eastern Visayas, six from Western Visayas, and three from the Davao region.
Also affected were 2,068 villages in the Bicol region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
About 65,130 families are still in evacuation centers.
A total of 75 cities or municipalities experienced power interruption. Supply has been restored in 11 areas as of posting time.
About 9,266 houses were reportedly damaged in Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, and Caraga.
The estimated cost of damage to agriculture in Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccksksargen, and BARMM has reached PHP186,632,976.31.
Damage to infrastructure was placed at PHP2.96 million in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and BARMM.
Malacañang assured that the executive branch is closely monitoring the situation in typhoon-hit areas, as well as the government’s response efforts.
The footage of Duterte’s aerial inspection was uploaded on the official Facebook page of the state-run Radio Television Malacañang.
Accompanied by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, the President landed in Ormoc City. (PNA)