MANILA: At least 12 people have died and 36 others were injured in the Philippines in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Basyang, as emergency officials continued to validate casualty reports and assess damage from flooding and landslides that hit parts of Mindanao and the central Philippines. The storm, known internationally as Penha, has weakened and dissipated, but local authorities said the impacts lingered across multiple regions where residents were displaced and transport and livelihood activities were disrupted.
Government disaster officials said fatalities were concentrated in Northern Mindanao and the Caraga region. In Cagayan de Oro City, four people were killed when a landslide struck in Barangay Agusan during intense rainfall, according to government situation reports. Other deaths were reported in separate flooding-related incidents in nearby provinces, including cases linked to drowning, as responders conducted searches and cleared debris from affected communities.
Basyang entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility late on February 3 as a tropical depression and intensified into a tropical storm on February 4, state agencies said. It tracked westward across several island groups, bringing strong winds and periods of heavy rain before weakening into a low pressure area. The weather bureau said the remnant system dissipated at about 8 a.m. on February 7, after which localized flooding and saturated slopes continued to pose hazards in some areas.
The storm’s rains were amplified by existing weather systems, and the national weather bureau reported that rainfall in parts of Northern Mindanao reached levels associated with a rare 100-year return period, with some upstream locations recording more than 350 millimeters in a 24-hour span. Officials said the downpour triggered rapid river swelling, flash floods in low-lying neighborhoods and landslides in vulnerable terrain, prompting forced and preemptive evacuations in several local government units.
Displacement and emergency shelters
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said 227,838 families, or 786,419 people, were affected in 1,280 barangays across Regions V, VI, Negros Island Region, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and Caraga as of 6 a.m. February 9. It reported 11,130 families, or 32,049 people, remained displaced, including 8,442 families sheltering in 230 evacuation centers and another 2,688 families staying with relatives or friends, as local authorities continued relief distribution and cleanup.
In Iligan City, one of the hardest-hit areas in Lanao del Norte, the city council declared a state of calamity during a special session on February 6, authorizing the use of calamity funds for relief operations, assistance to affected residents and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure. Local officials said flooding affected multiple barangays and pushed families into evacuation centers as rescue teams responded to calls from inundated neighborhoods and conducted clearing operations on roads and waterways.
Damage assessments compiled by social welfare authorities showed 1,968 houses were damaged, including 334 reported as totally destroyed and 1,634 partially damaged in Regions VI, Negros Island Region, X and Caraga. Government reports also cited interruptions to livelihood and daily work, particularly among laborers and fisherfolk, and noted a series of sea travel suspensions and port congestion that left locally stranded individuals in several areas as weather conditions deteriorated during the storm’s passage.
Relief operations and assistance
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said total humanitarian assistance provided to affected families had reached about 84.9 million pesos as of February 9, including support from national resources and local government units. It said field offices deployed quick response teams, monitored weather and hazard updates around the clock, and distributed food and non-food items, including family food packs and ready-to-eat food boxes for displaced residents and stranded travelers.
Authorities said damage and casualty figures may still change as verification continues and local governments complete post-storm reporting, with responders prioritizing the restoration of access routes, clearing of debris and support for families returning to damaged homes. While Basyang has dissipated, disaster officials said communities in flood-prone and landslide-prone areas remain under close monitoring as recovery operations continue across affected provinces. – By Content Syndication Services.