Typhoon ‘Ompong’ affects 4.2-M people

By Priam Nepomuceno

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson Edgar Posadas said Friday the number of individuals affected by the weather disturbance is 4.2 million, not 5.2 million as earlier reported.

The change in the statistics in its 6 p.m. update on Typhoon Ompong was attributed to the changing tracks of the typhoon, Posadas said.

As of this posting, Cagayan remains the province with the most at risk population with 218,934 followed by Isabela at 226,882, all of whom are living within the 125-km. radius from the projected track of the typhoon, he said.

The number of cities and municipalities at risk are at 158 while the number of evacuation centers are placed at 1,736.

Posadas said 15,328 individuals, or roughly 3,510 families, have been preemptively evacuated from Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 4-A (Calabarzon), and Cordillera Administrative Region.

The NDRRMC spokesperson said the government’s third wave responders are already pre-positioned in Clark Field, Pampanga and waiting for staging points in the north for possible deployment. (PNA)