RESCUE teams raced against time in search of people missing or feared dead as Agaton, the first major tropical storm to hit the country this year, unleashed heavy rains and deadly landslides in the southern and eastern regions.
State weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Tropical Storm Agaton (international name: Megi) was expected to further weaken into a low pressure area as it remained within the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).
The weather disturbance was seen interacting with Typhoon “Basyang,” (international name: Malakas) which stayed briefly within the PAR on Tuesday morning before heading out farther 1,390 kilometers east of Central Luzon.
National and local disaster agencies reported 27 missing and five more deaths on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 30 since the storm made landfall in Guiuan, Samar province, on Sunday, with sustained winds of 65 km per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph.
In the Western Visayas region, rescue operations continued on Panay Island on Tuesday, particularly in the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo where flash floods hit several municipalities.
According to the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office of Iloilo, a total of 74,707 people so far were affected by the flooding.
The agency also reported one fatality and one missing in the town of Sara.
The provincial capital of Roxas City and 16 other municipalities remained underwater, it added.
The devastation left by Agaton reached as far as Mindanao, with more than 73,000 families displaced by floods in the Bangsamoro communities. There were still no fatalities reported at press time.
Some residents decided to remain in their homes instead of moving to the evacuation centers so they could look after their belongings.
Agaton forced dozens of ports to suspend operations and stranded nearly 8,000 people at the start of Holy Week, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
The storm comes four months after Supertyphoon Odette (international name: Rai) left a large swathe of devastation across the archipelago, killing more than 400 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
Damage to agriculture attributed to Agaton has reached P265.3 million as of Tuesday morning, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Losses have been reported mostly in the Eastern Visayas and Caraga regions, affecting 2,132 farmers. The volume of production loss was estimated at 16,532 metric tons spanning 3,060 hectares of agricultural areas. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2022/Joey Gabieta)
