LEGAZPI City -- Torrential rains brought by the tailend of the cold front destroyed some 220 hectares of ricefields planted with palay in Albay worth about P8.66 million, the provincial government of Albay reported during the weekend.

More rains were predicted by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical and Services Administration (PAGASA) due to prevailing low pressure area (LPA) during the weekend.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said some 679 families or about 4,000 persons have been affected by the continuous rains and flooding in 15 villages in Libon, Polangui and Jovellar towns.

With the continuous rains, Salceda alerted disaster relief workers and disaster units of the Armed Forces to preposition transport haulers in municipalities threatened by flooding and soil erosions like those in Polangui town.

The Office of the Civil Defence (OCD) regional office had reported that the rains wrought landslides in Sangay, Camarines Sur and the outlying Tiwi, Albay.

Meanwhile, Bicolano Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, chair, Senate committee on environment and natural resources, suggested that government infrastructure assets should be insured against disasters to guarantee there is funding for their repairs.

Escudero said he is now closely working with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to craft an insurance scheme for government buildings and other infrastructures, particularly those located in the country’s Northeastern seaboard.              Sonny Sales