27 dead, 289K people displaced due to 'Egay' — NDRRMC

MANILA, Philippines — The number of reported deaths due to Typhoon Egay (international name: Doksuri) has climbed to 27, while over 289,000 people remain displaced, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported Wednesday. 

Twenty-three of the deaths are still being verified. The NDRRMC also said that 13 people remain missing and 52 others are injured.

Nearly 2.8 million individuals from across the country have been affected by the powerful storm and the southwest monsoon. Of those, more than 289,000 people were displaced. 

The combined effects of Egay and the southwest monsoon also wreaked damage in the agricultural sector. In a separate bulletin Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture placed the agricultural losses due to Egay at P2.9 billion.

The initial damage to infrastructure was estimated at around P3.5 billion, according to the NDRRMC. 

The government has so far provided P187 million in assistance to affected residents.

Egay—the fifth cyclone to hit the Philippines this year—battered northern Luzon with violent winds and heavy rain last week.

Typhoon Falcon (international name: Khanun) followed and threatened the Philippines by enhancing the southwest monsoon, which triggered widespread flooding. 

The NDRRMC has yet to release data on the impacts of Falcon, which left the Philippine Area of Responsibility Tuesday afternoon.

According to PAGASA weather specialist Grace Castañeda, two to three cyclones may enter or develop inside PAR this August. — Gaea Katreena Cabico