September 27 ------ Super Typhoon Karding killed at least 8 people and left an estimated P160 million in agricultural damage before leaving the Philippine area of responsibility, a disaster official said.
Asec. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro, Civil Defense Deputy Administrator for Operations and spokesperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the 8 fatalities include 5 veteran rescuers killed in a flash flood in Bulacan, 2 fatalities in Zambales and 1 in Quezon province. A total of 45,334 people or 11,500 families fled their homes to seek shelter in different evacuation centers at the height of the storm. Alejandro said agriculture "suffered the most" during Karding's onslaught, with P160 million worth of agriculture damage reported. "President Ferdinand Marcos Jr saw for himself yung damage sa agriculture especially sa Nueva Ecija," he said.
Some 3,780 farmers and fishermen were affected by the storm. Some 47 seaports were non-operational but are expected to reopen today. Rebuilding homes will be a challenge after Karding, Alejandro said, noting that the typhoon destroyed many houses in its path.
The Philippines is regularly ravaged by storms, with scientists warning they are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change. Karding smashed into the archipelago nation after an unprecedented "explosive intensification" in wind speeds, the state weather forecaster said earlier. It made landfall about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Manila, before weakening to a typhoon as it crossed a mountain range, coconut plantations and rice fields.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com