MANILA, Philippines — Some 330 villages in 20 local government units in Pampanga remained flooded Monday, with prolonged power outages and exhausted local responders complicating relief operations as the government braced for more heavy rain from the enhanced southwest monsoon or habagat.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Pampanga was the hardest-hit area from the combined effects of Tropical Cyclones Luis, Maymay and Neneng and the southwest monsoon.
OCD officials said several municipalities had been without electricity for days, prompting the national government to coordinate with the Department of Energy to speed up power restoration.
Local governments have also requested additional personnel after responders worked continuously for two to three weeks. The OCD said uniformed personnel would be deployed to augment exhausted local teams.
The disaster has affected about 2.5 million families or 8.8 million people across nine regions and Metro Manila, with 33 deaths, 19 injuries and three missing persons recorded as of noon Monday.
OCD Disaster Preparedness Service Director Gregorio Tomas said 13 other reported deaths were still undergoing validation and were not yet included in the official count. The latest confirmed fatality was a drowning in Caloocan City.
Four people remain missing following the collapse of the Agana Bridge in Tarlac. If confirmed, the number of missing could rise to seven.
The OCD reported 1,365 evacuation centers housing about 46,900 families or 164,500 people.
About 3,300 houses were damaged, while infrastructure losses reached P6.12 billion and agricultural damage stood at P2.32 billion. Government agencies and partners have provided about P1.78 billion in assistance.