”Pepito” displaces thousands of families in Calabarzon: OCD

October 21, 2020

Thousands of families were evacuated because of the effect of Tropical Storm ''Pepito'', the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Wednesday.

In a report, the OCD Calabarzon regional office said a total of 2,312 families or 5,783 individuals were displaced in Quezon province.

''Pepito'' is at the West Philippine Sea after going through inland southern Luzon, central Luzon and western Pangasinan, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its 11 am bulletin.

The storm, which has winds of  85 kph and gusts of  105 kph, is moving west at 30 kph, said Pagasa.  Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal Number One remains over the western portion of Pangasinan (Bolinao, Anda, Bani, Agno, Alaminos City, Mabini, Burgos, Dasol, Sual, Labrador, Infanta)

Lopez, Quezon Mayor Rachel Ubana said ''Pepito'' caused a huge damage to agriculture in their areas.

"Actually in two weeks it is supposed to be harvest time so there is a huge damage to the agriculture. In the latest report of our municipal agriculture officer, 326 hectares of rice (fields) were affected," she said.

Mark Timbal, National Disaster Risk Ruduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesman, said in Aurora province there were a total of 335 displaced individuals, "of which 253 stayed in 13 evacuation centers in the province."

He said in the province of Pampanga there were 20 barangays (one in Masantol, 19 in Macabebe) still submerged in one to three feet of flood waters.

Timbal said based on the advisory issued by the Calabarzon Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council  as of Tuesday afternoon there are some areas ithat remain flooded.

"To the motorists going to Bicol Region, parts of Maharlika Hi-way in Brgy. Canda, Lopez, Quezon remain flooded at this hour. Notorists were advised to temporarily suspend their trips in the area to avoid the increase in the number of stranded vehicles and passengers," the advisory said. Robina Asido/DMS