El Niño places 106 areas under state of calamity, affects over 300,000

A total of 388,375 people have been affected by El Niño, with 106 cities and towns across the country under a state of calamity, according to NDRRMC. – CONTRIBUTED

MANILA, Philippines — El Niño has placed 106 cities and municipalities across the country under a state of calamity and affected more than 388,000 people, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

In its latest report as of Monday, the NDRRMC said 66 areas in Cagayan were under a state of calamity, along with 23 in the Caraga region, 12 in the Bicol region, four in Calabarzon and one in Soccsksargen.

The phenomenon has affected 388,375 individuals, or 104,149 families, the agency said.

Cagayan recorded the highest number of affected individuals at 47,587, followed by Caraga with 45,507 and Bicol with 11,055. Calabarzon reported 191 affected individuals.

The NDRRMC said the government has provided P39,058,681.06 in assistance to 24,618 of the 35,893 families identified as needing aid.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier said El Niño could intensify into a “very strong” phenomenon between September and December and persist until the first half of 2027.

Pagasa said the phenomenon could bring hotter temperatures and a significant drop in rainfall.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Sept. 26 that El Niño had affected 223,214 farmers in 14 regions, with agricultural damage reaching P6.87 billion.

The DA also reported damage to 249,028 hectares of agricultural land and agricultural production. [Verify source figure before publication: “163,812 million metric tons” appears inconsistent and should be checked against the DA report.]

Meanwhile, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Harold Cabreros said Monday that the agency was monitoring the implementation of the National Action Plan on El Niño.

He said the government was also watching for the cascading effects of the dry season, including a possible increase in forest fires.

“Ang isa po, ang mino-monitor din natin na katatapos lang po ng ating tag-ulan, ngayon naman tag-init, ang tinitingnan natin iyong mga cascading effects nito, one of which, ang nakikita natin ay magkakaroon ng increase ng forest fires,” Cabreros said.

(We are also monitoring the start of the dry season and its cascading effects, including a possible increase in forest fires.)

Cabreros said the government was also monitoring the impact of the dry conditions on forests and agriculture.