7 reported dead due to ‘Pepito’ - OCD

Metro Manila, Philippines – Seven people were reported dead as rescuers count losses from severe tropical storm Pepito’s wrath, the Office of Civil Defense said on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said the casualties were landslide victims from Ambaguio, Nueva Vizcaya, where a family of seven was killed.

Data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed 30 people were injured, while two others were reported missing after three consecutive cyclones ‘Pepito’, ‘Ofel’, and ‘Nika’ hammered Luzon in a span of two weeks.

Around 1.8 million individuals felt the impact of the storm, equivalent to nearly half a million families.

Twenty cities and municipalities have declared a state of calamity as of Nov. 19, the NDRRMC said.

Infrastructure damage reached nearly P470 million, while agricultural losses were pegged at P8.6 million.

Four storms had battered the country in the last two weeks, a phenomenon that experts described as unusual. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, however, said these weather events are not odd.

The weather bureau said two more cyclones may enter the country’s weather disturbance monitoring zone in December.