THE RUNNING total of damage on infrastructure and agriculture due to typhoon Ursula (international name: Phanfone) has reached 1.194 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Thursday. The typhoon swept through the Visayas and parts of Luzon on Christmas eve and Christmas day. Over 428,000 houses were affected, of which 106,772 were totally damaged. On public infrastructure, 446 schools were partially damaged in the regions of CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), MIMAROPA (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan), Bicol, Western Visayas, and Eastern Visayas; 32 health facilities; and 106 other various public buildings and facilities.

AFFECTED FAMILIES
Five people remain missing, according to NDRRMC, and the number of those who died stands at 50. More than half a million families were affected by the typhoon, with 19,553 still in evacuation centers (ECs) and another 13,534 still displaced but not in the ECs, all within either the Western or Eastern Visayas. The total amount of assistance distributed so far was P54.6 million coming from national and local government funds, non-government organizations, and other benefactors.

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