Super Typhoon Karding Ravages Central, Northern Luzon; Leaves Damages to Agriculture, Deaths

As typhoon Karding (Noru) ravaged Central and Northern Luzon along neighboring provinces, leaving with it a great amount of damage to property and needless deaths while traversing a path reminiscent of a devastating typhoon from 2009.

Karding made its first landfall on Philippine soil in Burdeos, Quezon in the late afternoon of Sunday, September 25, and was categorized as a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h.

This was followed by a second landfall at Dingalan, Aurora, in the evening, where it was downgraded to a typhoon.

Karding then ravaged the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales before leaving Philippine coastal waters in the early morning of Monday, September 26, and is now headed towards Vietnam.

Karding shared a similar path and month in which it ravaged the country with Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana), which swept across Metro Manila and parts of Central Luzon on Saturday, September 26, 2009, bringing with it a month’s worth of rain in a mere 12 hours.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Spokesperson Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV led a briefing on updates on the aftermath on Monday, September 26, saying that Bulacan, Quezon Province, and Nueva Ecija are the most hit areas by the super typhoon.

Moreover, it said that Nueva Ecija’s agriculture sector was hit badly.

Meanwhile, Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando told DZMM radio station that five rescue workers were killed in the province.

Damage to agriculture

An initial assessment by the Department of Agriculture (DA) estimates that Karding caused a total of PHP141 million in damages to agriculture.

This comes as reports of damage and losses came from Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon.

The volume of production loss was pegged at 5,886 metric tons and 16,229 hectares of agricultural areas.

The DA said that among the affected commodities are corn, high-value crops, and rice.

Additional reports of damage and losses are expected in the coming days, the DA added.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presided over a briefing with the NDRRMC and other government officials on Monday, saying that the damage from Karding is manageable so far, and cited luck and government preparedness for sustaining only minimal damages.

“Well, I think that we may have gotten lucky at least this time, a little bit. I think it’s clear from what we did these last two days is that very, very important is preparation,” Marcos said during the briefing, adding that the same approach will be made moving forward.

“That’s the approach we will take always,” he added.

Marcos also tweeted that the damage from Karding is still manageable.

“Generally, the damage to public and private infrastructure is manageable. Government services are almost at full function. Main road thoroughfares are passable, and communication is up and running,” Marcos tweeted. (GFB)