BATANGAS CITY – At least 617 houses in Balete, this province, collapsed and were totally destroyed due to heavy ash fall from Taal Volcano.
Joselito Castro, head of the Batangas Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the accounting of damaged houses is continuing and only covered Barangay Calawit.
Barangay Calawit is located on Taal island, which was declared as a no-man zone based on the order of President Duterte.
Reports of collapsed houses were also reported in Talisay, San Nicolas, Laurel, and other areas near the Taal Volcano.
Aside from the houses, the agriculture sector of Batangas was heavily-affected with the PDRRMO reporting that damage has reached P549 million based on the assessment as of yesterday morning.
On the other hand, displaced individuals reached 144,272 individuals from 32,231 families.
Castro said they are currently staying in more than 400 evacuation centers in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, and Cavite.
Castro, however, said that the figure does not include some of the evacuees who sought refuge at the houses of their relatives in non-affected areas in Batangas and other areas which include Metro Manila. (Aaron Recuenco)
