BY IME SORNITO and ADRIAN STEWART CO
ILOILO City – The initial death toll in Western Visayas due to super typhoon “Odette” was seven – three in Negros Occidental, two in Guimaras and one each in Iloilo city and province.
Seven others were missing, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Friday night. Search and resue operations were lauched.
Western Visayas’ death toll was so far the most among the regions hit by the typhoon, according to OCD administrator Ricardo Jalad.
Region 7 initially reported four casualties, while Region 8 and Region 10 had one each.
But the number could still change. Damage assessments are ongoing.
“Hopefully in the next few days, in the assessments of our local government units, there would be no more casualties reported. We’re doing our best to collect the needed information with the help of local governments,” Jalad said.
As to evacuees, Region 6 counted 30,827 families (112,620 individuals), according to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).
Of the reported fatalities, three have so far been identified:
* Rosalyn Caberte, 53, of Barangay Sambag, Jaro, Iloilo City
* Rodolfo Castro, 72, and Virginia Palencia, 64, both of Barangay Ravina, Sibunag, Guimaras,
A fallen tree crushed Caberte’s house before dawn on Friday. She got trapped in her house. This was also the case of Castro and Palencia in Guimaras.
Christian Nagaynay, officer-in-charge of the Local Government Capability Development Division (LGCDD) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), said the death toll could still rise.
REGIONAL EVACUEES
Judith Tañate-Barredo, officer-in-charge for Disaster Response Management Division of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 6, said as of 5 p.m. on Friday that 30,827 families (112,620 individuals) were adversely affected by “Odette”.
Of these figures, 22,864 families or 85,437 individuals were in evacuation centers while 1,896 families (8,352 individuals) were at home.
Local government units (LGUs) requested from the national government more relief goods.
The requests were from Banate, Balasan, and Lambunao in Iloilo; New Washington in Aklan; and Sapi-an in Capiz.
Preemptive evacuations were ordered by local governments in Region 6 as early as Dec. 14.
STRANDED PASSENGERS
Over 400 passengers got stranded at Dumangas port in Dumangas, Iloilo while 219 more were stranded at Fort San Pedro in Iloilo City, according to Philippine Coast Guard – Iloilo station commander Edison Diaz.
The coastguard suspended the trips of sea vessels on Thursday.
So far, according to Diaz, there have been no reports of sea-related incidents.
AGRI, INFRAS
As of this writing, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 6 had yet receive reports on the typhoon’s damage to agriculture, infrastructure and people’s livelihood.
According to Aleth Nogra, chief of OCD-6’s disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) division,“Ulihi na ina sia nagasulod kay ang aton team from the Department of Agriculture (DA) magwa pa sila sa field and conduct their assessment, mga after three days, kon mag-okay ang weather.”
Nogra cited LGUs for ordering preemptive evacuations. This saved many lives, she stressed.
“It was the most effective strategy,” said Nogra./PN