Typhoon Emong's death toll rose to 28 on Saturday and officials feared that it could surpass 40 as more than 20 residents in various places remained missing. Damage caused by the typhoon was placed at P147.461 million in the northern provinces, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NCDCC) said, citing preliminary field reports. Most of the fatalities were victims of drowning in Pangasinan and landslides in Ifugao. In Pangasinan, GMA reporter Carlo Lorenzo quoted the provincial police as saying the death toll on Saturday rose to 13 people, with seven injured and 16 missing. Landslides in the province of Ifugao claimed the lives of 11 people in the towns of Kiangan and Hingyon, the local police said. Eight others were injured, while three were missing. The other fatalities included one in each in the provinces of Zambales, La Union, Bataan, Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya. A 6 A.M. report of the NDCC confirmed only 22 fatalities – Benedicto Fortes, 23 (Tubao, La Union, hit by flying GI sheet); John Nerie Aspa, 3, Bernardo Carasco, Rodolfo Ribudan, Ungria, and John Garci (Pangasinan, drowning); Veronica Viray dela Cruz, 84 (Lingayen, Pangasinan, head trauma); Marlyn Lopez, 45 (Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, drowning); Asley Mosalina, 4 (Bagong Silang, Balanga, Bataan, drowning); Jeremy Ambalisa, 53 (Sta. Cruz, Zambales, heart attack);Ayra Grace Daang, 15; Marife Daan, 13; Vency Mae Daang, Olivia Guay, Rosita Tinol, two men known only by their surnames Tinol amd Guay, Mercy Guay (Ifugao, landslide); Marcos Ofo-ob and unidentified companion (Ifugao, landslide victim in Elf truck); Samuel Daang, 23, and Mary Bulahao, 76 (landslide). At least nine were reported injured, eight of them from Cordillera and one from Ilocos. They included Armante Hemarangan, 29 (La Union, electrocution), and Valentine Daang, Daisy Daang, Cheche Marcelo, Antonio Guay, Polahon Tinol, Charles Tinol, Balong Guay, Lola Goring (Kiangan, Ifugao, landslide). The NDCC also said some 13,507 families or 64,367 people in 235 villages in 30 towns and five cities in 10 provinces were affected. Of those affected, 1,395 families or 6,302 people were brought to 43 evacuation centers. Police said that in Pangasinan alone, 30,157 families or 152,717 individuals were affected by the typhoon. The NDCC said the P147.461 in damages included P4.413 million to transmission lines, P4.3 million to roads and bridges, and P138.747 million to agriculture. Some 2,811 houses were destroyed while 4,608 were damaged. Bagabag-Ifugao Road remained impassable to all vehicles. As of 3 A.M. Saturday, the NDCC said power was restored 88.19 percent in the Bauang-San Fernando 69-KV line in La Union; 62.15 percent restored in the Bauang-Naguilian-Burgos 69-KV line; and 15.24 percent restored in Labrador-Bani 69-KV line in Labrador, Pangasinan. Emong, which entered the Philippines Wednesday from the South China Sea, slammed into Pangasinan province Thursday night with maximum center winds of 150 kilometers per hour. It then swept northeastward overnight Thursday across the Cordillera mountain ranges, weakening as exited into the Philippines Sea via Cagayan province on Friday.
