Northern Samar town under state of calamity due to ‘Enteng’

TACLOBAN: The town of Allen in Northern Samar has been declared under a state of calamity due to the effects of Tropical Storm Enteng. The town council approved during its session late Monday a resolution, placing the town under such status due to the extent of damage caused by the typhoon when it crossed Northern Samar on Sept. 1. Mayor Jose Arturo Suan signed the declaration on Tuesday. 'The abrupt and heavy downpour caused the rainwater to surge through almost every household in the town center and most of the component villages, thus causing heavy damage to properties of the inhabitants,' the resolution read as posted on Facebook by Vice Mayor Christian Lao. The unforeseen floods devastated farms, which are the main source of livelihood of residents. Local authorities are still gathering data on the cost of damage brought by Enteng's non-stop rains and strong winds in Allen. Northern Samar provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer Josiah Echano said about 80 to 90 percent of the town' s over 25,000 population was displaced by floods. 'Based on the existing guidelines, there should be at least 15 percent of the population in need of emergency assistance for an area to be declared under state of calamity,' he said in a phone interview. This measure allows the release of calamity funds allocated to local governments and controls the pricing of basic commodities in the affected areas. Widespread floods also hit the town of Lope de Vega, with almost 90 percent of the population affected, but the local government has yet to declare the state of calamity, Echano said. Source: Philippines News Agency