AGATON AFTERMATH | Death toll rises to 63 as Leyte appeals for help

April 13, 2022 , 05:06 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(April 13, 2022) – The death toll on Wednesday rose to 63 as mudslides buried four villages in the nation’s belly as a tropical storm brought heavy rainfall, causing landslides and heavy floods this week.

Agaton, known internationally as Megi, has weakened to a low pressure area on Tuesday night after lingering in Eastern Visayas for nearly three days, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

It was last located in the Philippine Sea about 65 kilometers southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar at 4 a.m.

Most of the fatalities were buried in mudslides or washed to the sea in Baybay City in Leyte.

The local police and disaster agency reported at least 48 dead with 27 residents still unaccounted for.

Leyte congressman Carl Cari appealed for help and thanked donors who have shared food and medical supplies.
Other Leyte local government units and agencies also helped in the rescue operations, while health workers across the province provided medical assistance, he said.

“However, we still need more help,” Cari said in a statement on Facebook. “We ask for food, clothing, blankets, and folding beds to be given to donation hubs and any amount of financing will help these victims.”

Police authorities also reported six fatalities from Abuyog, Leyte, two from Cebu, and one from Motiong, Samara. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) tallied three more deaths from Negros Oriental and one from Cateel, Davao Oriental.

Some 242 were also injured from the disaster.

Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Armand Balilo said that they are deploying personnel for rescue operations in Eastern Visayas, particularly for searching for and rescuing missing persons buried by landslides in Baybay.

“Mga tauhan po ng Philippine Coast Guard sa Iloilo at Capiz, humigit-kumulang sampung deployable response group, ay kasama pa rin po ng mga LGU ng Iloilo at ng Capiz para po sa mga evacuation at sa mga rescue operations pa doon sa mga flooded areas ng mga barangay doon sa area,” Balilo said in a government briefing.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has also started bringing aid to affected local government units. The agency has provided more than P16.9 million worth of asssitance in Davao Region, based on its report on Tuesday evening.

Nearly 581,000 persons were affected by the disaster, the NDRRMC said. The Department of Agriculture also estimated agricultural losses of P423.8 million, as the cyclone resulted in production loss at 25.165 metric tons and 10,920 hectares of agricultural areas.

PAGASA expects Agaton to track eastward away from Samar and Leyte and merge with the larger Typhoon Basyang outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the agency said in its last bulletin for Agaton on Tuesday 11 p.m.

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