Metro Manila, Philippines – Disaster officials continue counting the dead over a week after tropical cyclones Butchoy and Carina pummelled several towns across the country.
The latest count released on Thursday, August 1 by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) put the death toll at 40 after one more body was found.
The deaths are recorded in Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Injuries stood at nine as there were five missing individuals, the data added.
About 1.4 million families have been affected.
The disaster also devastated the agriculture sector with P1 billion worth of damage.
Infrastructure damage, meanwhile, was pegged at P4 billion.
Lawmakers are seeking an investigation into the widespread flooding after the monsoon and Super Typhoon Carina battered the country in July.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority admitted that the outdated drainage system cannot take heavy downpour and may have contributed to the recent flooding.
NewsWatch Plus correspondent Daniza Fernandez contributed to this report.
