The cost of damage caused by typhoon “Ruby” in Cebu reached at least P238.9 million with more than half of it sustained by the province’s farmers.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported yesterday that the province’s agriculture sector lost P125,870,319 worth of crops as “Ruby’s” gusty winds swept through small banana and corn fields.
The typhoon also damaged public infrastructure with the province placing the costs at P113,098,149.
The estimate was based on the assessment reports sent by the towns of Borbon, Carmen, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Pilar, San Francisco, San Remegio, Sta. Fe, Tabogon, Tabuelan, Tudela and Bogo City as of Dec. 12.
Local government units (LGUs) that have yet to submit their reports are Bantayan, Catmon, Compostela, Liloan, Medellin, Poro and Tuburan.
Amount
Bogo City bore the brunt of typhoon Ruby’s destruction of public infrastructure, reporting damages worth P89.8 million on their roads and bridges.
Provincial Information Officer Ethel Natera said the figures from Bogo City were much higher” since the local government unit (LGU) provided the amount for the estimated cost of repairs for the damaged structures.
In keeping with the concept of “building back better,” Natera said paved roads that were affected from the recent typhoon will be repaired and concreted instead.
“For the roads, unpaved roads will be concreted. The amount for a concreted road is what they gave, thus making the amount so much higher,” Natera said.
Daanbantayan’s agricultural sector sustained more than P93.4 million worth of losses due to damage in its crops and fruit-bearing trees.
Difficulty
To assess the damage, the Cebu provincial government sent seven teams to conduct a 72-hour rapid assessment in both the northern and southern portions of the province.
Task Force Paglig-on Julius Camerino said the delay was caused by the difficulty in computing the damage on agriculture especially since teams have to determine a number of factors such as the size of the plantation, type of crop and so on.
Ruby was the strongest storm that hit the country this year and it followed a path similar to last year’s supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
Three typhoon-related deaths were recorded in Cebu — one in Bogo City, another in Bantayan town and the last in Malabuyoc town, south Cebu.
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