By Priam Nepomuceno

HOME FOR NOW. Quezon City residents take shelter in one of the city’s evacuation centers on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) amid the flooding triggered by incessant heavy rains. The inclement weather, caused by the southwest monsoon and three successive tropical cyclones, has affected over 2 million families nationwide, according to the official government tally as of Wednesday morning (July 30). (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

MANILA – The number of families affected by last week’s heavy southwest monsoon (habagat) rains and succession of tropical cyclones has breached the 2-million mark, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Wednesday.

In its latest situational report, the NDRRMC said the 2,064,096 families, equivalent to 7,457,942 persons, are residing in 7,758 barangays across the country.

As of Wednesday morning, 32,332 families are still sheltering in 1,145 evacuation centers while 23,967 families are being aided elsewhere.

The number of reported deaths stood at 34, of which only two have so far been validated, the disaster response agency said.

It added that 22 persons were reported injured, with 15 so far confirmed, and seven reported missing, with three verified.

The monsoon rains and cyclones Crising, Dante and Emong also damaged 37,557 houses — 33,084 “partially” and 4,473 “totally,” according to the NDRRMC.

Agriculture and infrastructure damage were estimated at PHP1.96 billion and PHP9.5 billion, respectively.

To bring relief items to far-flung communities, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said a “coordinated movement of critical relief supplies via airlift” took place on Tuesday morning with help from the United States military.

“The government deployed its own C-130 aircraft and the V-22 Osprey of the United States Armed Forces to transport family food packs, hygiene kits, solar panels, inverters, and battery banks from key staging areas in Tuguegarao, Cagayan and Clark, Pampanga,” it said.

The OCD said these shipments will be brought to Basco, Batanes, from where local government units will lead the distribution to isolated and affected communities.

Also on Tuesday, the OCD held an inter-agency coordinating cell meeting in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City to align ongoing response operations for the severely affected communities.

The meeting served as a continuation of OCD’s high-level coordination efforts, ensuring uninterrupted response operations while actively preparing for possible future weather disturbances. (PNA)