Philippines government offers farmers payout over Typhoon Tembin
More than 20,000 Filipino farmers whose crops were destroyed by the recent Typhoon Tembin, also known as Typhoon Vinta in the Philippines, have received roughly $3.6m (182m Philippine pesos) in insurance payments from the Philippines Department of Agriculture (DA).
Agriculture secretary F Piñol made the announcement via Facebook, disclosing that payments for farmers in six regions in Mindanao would be released on 4 and 5 January, following a visit to the devastated areas by the DA and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Mr Piñol said the visit would allow DA officials to evaluate the extent of the damage and also determine what other steps could be taken to alleviate the damage to the affected areas.
According to a report from the DA, typhoon-affected farmers have incurred losses amounting to $4.64m, with more than 19,240 hectares of agricultural land hit by the typhoon and a production loss amounting to 4,803 tonnes.
Typhoon Tembin made landfall on 22 December in the Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction to farmland and houses, as well as more than 160 fatalities as a result of subsequent flash floods and landslides.
By 26 December, the tropical storm had been downgraded to a tropical depression and did not make landfall in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, where thousands of people had been evacuated.