By Priam Nepomuceno

RESCUE OP. Personnel of the Alaminos City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office help residents affected by flooding on Monday (Aug. 17, 2026). The Office of Civil Defense said Tuesday (Aug. 18) that about 5.15 million individuals in Luzon and the Visayas have been affected by heavy rains brought by tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay, and the “habagat,” with 26 deaths being verified. (Photo courtesy of Alaminos City DRRMC).

MANILA – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported on Tuesday that about 5.15 million persons have been affected by the combined effects of tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay and the ongoing effects of the southwest monsoon or “habagat,” with 26 deaths being verified.

The OCD said the affected individuals are equivalent to nearly 1.47 million families residing in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Cordillera region, and the National Capital Region.

OCD information officer Diego Mariano said about 313 evacuation centers are sheltering about 6,338 families, or 21,591 persons.

Mariano said assistance provided to affected families has reached PHP760.1 million.

Deaths undergoing validation number 26, with 15 recorded in Benguet; three each in Rizal and Batangas; two in Caloocan; and one each in La Union, Quezon, and Negros Occidental.

Mariano said the number of injured remains at 17, while one person has been reported missing.

He estimated damaged houses at 1,786, and those destroyed at 203. (PNA)