A total of 50 local government units across the country have declared a state of calamity as relentless rains from the enhanced southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones “Luis” and “Maymay” cause widespread destruction, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported on Sunday, August 16.
Disaster monitoring data reveals that Central Luzon and Calabarzon have borne the brunt of the heavy weather, each logging 24 affected areas, while two municipalities in the Ilocos Region have declared a state of calamity.
In Central Luzon, all 21 cities and municipalities in Pampanga were declared under a province-wide state of calamity due to severe flooding, alongside the Bulacan towns of Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Bulakan.
Meanwhile, Calabarzon’s declarations cover all 23 cities and municipalities in Cavite, as well as Montalban in Rizal. In the Ilocos Region, emergency measures were activated in Dagupan City and Santa Barbara, Pangasinan.
The storm systems have claimed 23 lives, with Benguet recording 15 fatalities, Rizal and Batangas logging three each, and La Union and Quezon Province reporting one death apiece. Officials noted that 17 individuals sustained injuries while three people remain missing.
Across 10 affected regions—spanning the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula—the weather disturbances have impacted 1,410,800 families, or roughly 4.9 million individuals.
A total of 9,101 families (31,456 individuals) are currently taking shelter across 407 evacuation centers. Preliminary assessments list 1,845 damaged houses, including 1,667 partially ruined and 178 totally destroyed structures.
Overall financial losses have climbed past ₱4.05 billion, comprising ₱3.36 billion in infrastructure destruction and ₱689.66 million in agricultural damages. To support relief operations, the government has dispatched ₱654.59 million in aid to hard-hit communities.