Kalinga Governor Jocel Baac has declared the province under state of calamity on Friday morning (October 21), a day after Super Typhoon Lawin wreaked havoc over the region. The province incurred major damages to people, their properties, and their means of livelihoods. As of this writing, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council lists 6 human casualties of the typhoon in the province. A family of 5 in Uma, Lubuagan was covered by a landslide. And one person reportedly perished in Balatoc, Pasil.
Electric power in the entire province is also yet to be restored. The Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative estimates that it will take them about two months to fully restore power in the province. Several communication facilities and towers were also toppled down by the storm. Major roads that connect the province to nearby provinces are still closed due to major landslides. These include the Kalinga-Abra Road and the Lubuagan-Bontoc Road.
A state of calamity is defined by the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 as "a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damages to property, disruption of means of livelihoods, roads and normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard.”
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| The Cordilleran Sun file photo. |
