THE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Thursday said damage to infrastructure from the July 27 magnitude 7 earthquake that rocked the province of Abra is now nearing P2 billion.

According to the latest situational report from the NDRRMC, the estimated cost of damage is at P1,993,069,205.62 in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila).

Most of the damage was recorded in the Ilocos Region involving some 1,453 infrastructure and an estimated cost of P1,038,953,119.65.

This was followed by CAR with 828 damaged infrastructure at P922,086,923.16 and Cagayan Valley with 131 damaged infrastructure at P32,029,162.81.

Meanwhile, 35,958 houses were affected by the tremor, with 35,265 partly damaged and 693 destroyed.

The number of affected residents was at 533,651 or 146,363 families from 1,343 barangay (villages) in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and CAR.

The NDRRMC said based on a report of the Department of Agriculture, an estimated P48,256,325.55 in damage was tallied by CAR’s agriculture sector.

The National Irrigation Administration also reported P22,700,000 damage in the Ilocos Region and CAR.

The number of injured is now at 609 and the reported deaths remained at 11.

A total of 29 cities and municipalities declared a state of calamity.