Eight people killed by latest typhoon; one still missing

TYPHOON Krovanh, locally called Vicky, killed at least eight and hurt two people in the Philippines, according to the state disaster agency.

At least one person was still missing, it said in a report on Monday.

The storm displaced almost 9,000 families or 36,000 people in the Visayas and Mindanao, more than half of which were staying at 124 evacuation centers, it said.

The storm made landfall in Davao Oriental on Friday, passing through Agusan del Sur and Misamis Oriental before moving toward the Bohol Sea, according to the state weather bureau.

It headed toward Palawan province before leaving the Philippines on Sunday.

The Social Welfare department has readied P775.4 million worth of standby funds, including P140.08 million for quick response and stockpiles, according to the report.

The agency provided more than 229,000 food packs worth P106.72 million, P167.4 million for other food items and P321.63 million in nonfood items, it said.

The storm caused P110.4 million worth of infastructure damage, the Public Works department said.

Twelve road sections and five bridges were affected by flooding, landslides, soil collapse and toppled electric posts. Seven roads and four bridges remained impassable, it said.

A series of typhoons hit the country between October and November, causing more than P27 billion in infrastructure damage and almost P15 billion worth of crop damage. — Charmaine A. Tadalan