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Phil. suffers 5B pesos agriculture loss after floods

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-12 16:20

MANILA: Rains brought by tropical depression Parma which hovered above the northern Philippines for over a week had destroyed crops and farm products amounting to 5 billion pesos (about $108 million), the government reported Monday.

A destroyed house lies on its side as police rescuers search for more missing landslide victims at Puguis village in La Trinidad, Benguet in northern Philippines October 12, 2009. The Philippines turned its focus on Sunday from rescue operations to sending relief to northern provinces devastated by floods and cut off by landslides as the death toll from two typhoons in 14 days rose to more than 600.[Agencies]

The Philippine agriculture department said an estimated 246,152 metric tons of palay (paddy rice), valued at 4.2 billion pesos (about $90 million), was lost as massive rainfall submerged rice fields.

Floods and heavy rains inundated 180,121 hectares of rice- growing areas. These areas are in the provinces of Isabela, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Ilocos region, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Albay, Camarines Sur and the Cordillera provinces.

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The department also reported that Parma destroyed over 40,000 tons of corn, fruits and vegetables and damaged irrigation facilities worth over 300,000 pesos (about $6,000).

Officials said that they're assessing typhoon Parma's damage so that it can provide enough seeds and farm inputs to help rehabilitate the farms.

According to the latest government tally, 199 people were killed in floods and landslides triggered by Parma in the past week. Officials said the death toll would continue to rise as rescuers reached the worst-hit areas and completed the assessment of the losses.