Philippine Government Declares State of Calamity

Province of Nueva Ecija placed under a state of calamity, as KOPPU  churns across the country

Philippine authorities have placed the entire province of Nueva Ecija, north of Manila, under a state of calamity, and warned of continued risk of flooding, after Tropical Storm KOPPU left many cities and municipalities flooded.

• About 5,000 homes were damaged or destroyes, said NDRRMC in its Situation Report No. 10.
• At least 18 people were killed, 1 person missing, with 16 others injured.
• A state of calamity has also been declared in Ilagan City the capital of Isabela province due to the devastation caused by the typhoon.

A state of calamity is defined as “a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damages to property, disruption of means of livelihoods, roads, and normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard,” according to the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.

KOPPU, locally know as LANDO, the second strongest storm to hit the Philippines so far this year, has also forced more than 60,000 people from their homes, authorities said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 121,841 families (560,570 people) have been affected across the country, with 635 flooding incidents recorded in the affected regions.

Seven other people were killed after a passenger boat capsized in southern  Philippines “more than 500 kilometers from the direct path of the typhoon,” said reports.

“In the deadliest single incident related to the typhoon, seven passengers aboard a small outrigger (banca) were killed when it capsized in rough seas off Guimaras island in Western Visayas on Sunday,” Manila Times reported.