Manila: The reported death toll due to Super Typhoon Uwan (international name Fung-wong) has climbed to 33, with more than seven million people affected, many of them still in evacuation centers.
According to Philippines News Agency, in its latest report on Wednesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said only one of the 33 reported fatalities-a resident of Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula)-has so far been confirmed.
Still undergoing validation are the 20 reported fatalities in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), seven in Region 5 (Bicol Region), three in Region 3 (Central Luzon), and one each in Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Region 8 (Eastern Visayas). A previous NDRRMC report placed the reported death toll at 28.
The NDRRMC also said the 7,539,110 affected persons, or 2,139,837 families, were from 14,854 barangays in 16 regions nationwide. As of Wednesday morning, 80,720 families were still receiving assistance inside 3,169 evacuation centers, while another 118,356 were seeking temporary shelter in other places.
Uwan, one of the strongest cyclones to hit the country this year, also damaged 271,023 houses and destroyed 25,764 others in 14 regions, the NDRRMC said. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered round-the-clock relief and rehabilitation operations in areas ravaged by the super typhoon, directing all government agencies to stay on full alert.
