KALINGA Governor Jocel Baac has declared a state of calamity Friday as the aftermath of typhoon Lawin left the entire province without power and with roads leading to it closed.
Power in the province may take two months to be restored as declared by the Kalinga Electric Cooperative while communication lines are likewise down with no signal from telecommunication companies including towers of DZRK RnB toppled by strong winds and rain during onslaught of the super typhoon.
Road networks leading to the province remain closed; Kalinga–Abra Road, Lubuagan–Bontoc, Pinukpuk–Balbalan, Abbut–Pinukpuk due to rock and landslides.
As of press time, the Kalinga Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Center reports there are six casualties: a family of five in Uma, Lubuagan, and a lone death in Batong Buhay in Pasil, all due to landslides.
In Apayao, Governor Elias Bulut Jr. has also declared a state of calamity in the province with millions of damage to crops reported in Calanasan alone.
Calanasan reports to Sun.Star Baguio identify two totally ruined homes with 87 left with partial damages.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture Cordillera reported an initial P26,162,377.89 million worth of damages to agriculture with Kalinga bearing the brunt with P10,829,090.58 spoiled corn and rice.
Crop damages in Abra reached P5,343,750, Apayao with P2,063,235.98, Benguet with P5,507,353.51, Ifugao with P2,303,467.83 and the Mountain Province with P115,480. All provinces reported corn, rice and high value crops were destroyed as Lawin ravaged their areas.
Power and communication lines in the region remain to be choppy, as electricity in only 78 percent of barangays in Baguio City has been restored as of October 20, while in Benguet, power has been restored to 11 percent of the barangays.
The provinces of Apayao, Abra, Mt. Province and Ifugao are still experiencing province wide power outage while communication line remains down in Apayao, and Abra.
River systems in the Chico, Apayao and Abra River remain to be in critical levels.
The Office of Civil Defense Cordillera in a partial report confirmed tow deaths in Ifugao identified as Jay-ar Chawagan from Ambayak, Poblacion, Hungduan, Ifugao buried by landslide while sleeping and Jaramel Alfaro.
In Benguet, construction workers Edgar Genese and Jonie Borja were both buried in landslide while sleeping in a shanty near the project site at Longlong in La Trinidad.
Brothers Joshua and Jessie Hella were also buried when a landslide hit their shanty in Long-ayan, Sagpat in Kibungan.
Among the dead is 20-day-old John Carlos Hatap from Sitio Sablang, Sagpat also in Kibungan who died when a landslide occurred, while injured was Meljun Hatap who sustained a minor injury on his left hand due to the landslide.
In Buguias, Arsenio Sad-ang Lantaen died when a landslide hit his home in Tabbacan, Abatan.
Larry Duyapat from barangay Hungduan in Ifugao has been reported as missing. witnesses say Duyapat was seen swept by strong river currents at Barangay Baang.
Evacuated families reached 2,560 representing 9,100 individuals living in high-risk areas who fled to safety at the height of the storm.
The Department of Public Works and Highways report 46 national, provincial and municipal road networks not passable due to Road blocks caused by fallen trees, posts, landslides, road slips, and debris.
