Agricultural damage from Taal eruption hits ₱3.06-B

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 17)— Taal Volcano’s eruption has caused severe damage to the Philippines’ agricultural sector, with losses climbing to ₱3.06 billion, the Agriculture Department said Friday.

Affected were coffee, cacao, pineapple, rice, coconut, and other high value agricultural produce, the department said in its latest bulletin.

The fisheries sector meanwhile recorded the highest value of damage after the eruption, as it lost ₱1.6 billion for the tilapia and milkfish (bangus) culture around the Taal lake.

The eruptive activity also affected 15,970 hectares of land as well as 1,923 animals in the Calabarzon region. It was not immediately clear if the animals mentioned refers to those who died or were injured.

The department earlier assured affected farmers and fisherfolk in the region that they will be provided ₱21.7 million in cash aid to help them get back on their feet.

It added appropriate agencies have already delivered feeds and medicine to all the rescued livestock.

Over 15,000 families or about 66,000 individuals have been evacuated following Taal’s steam-driven eruption on Sunday.

With Alert Level 4 raised, volcanologists have warned of a possible “hazardous explosive eruption” soon. This prompted the local governments of Batangas and Cavite to place the provinces under state of calamity.

Despite Taal's reduced activity on Thursday, state scientists said they will still have to observe the downtrend — before deciding whether to lower the alert level over the volcano.

READ: Down but not out: Saving kapeng barako after Taal Volcano’s unrest