Oro under state of calamity; faces water shortage

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

DAVAO CITY -- Residents of Cagayan de Oro City, which is now under state of calamity, have more than the battered houses, dead bodies, and missing relatives to deal with: water shortage.

Major water facilities of the Cagayan de Oro Water District (Cowd) were damaged by the flash flood brought by Tropical Storm Sendong (international codename: Washi). The water district supplies 50 percent of the water needs of the city.

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Another 30 percent of the city’s water needs is provided by bulk delivery, but this has been suspended. All in all, the city has lost 80 percent of its potable water supply system.

Water hydrants are being used at the moment, but this will not last long. Bottled water in stores is also running out.

The appeal for those who have the means to bring in relief goods is to prioritize clean, drinking water.

The Cowd said it will take at least a month to repair what were destroyed.

In a special session on Monday, the Cagayan de Oro City Council passed and approved a resolution inviting officials of Cowd, Department of Trade and Industries, Department of Social Welfare and Development and other concerned agencies to give updates on the status of water supply and prices of commodities, among others.

On the human casualty side, authorities have recovered 652 bodies with more than 900 still reported missing, making Sendong one of the worst disasters to strike the country in the recent years.

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) said Monday that based on its assessment, the latest death toll is placed at 652.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile, said that as of Monday noon, they have recovered 626 dead bodies with 239 still missing.

Cagayan de Oro City has a death toll of 336, Iligan City has 227, Bukidnon has 17, Central Visayas has 38, Zamboanga Peninsula has three, and the Davao Region with five.

In Bayug Island in Iligan City, 216 residents were reportedly carried by strong flash flood current and are still missing as of Monday.

Colonel Leopoldo Galon of the AFP's Eastern Mindanao Command said they expect the number of casualties to continually rise as the search and rescue and retrieval operations are continuously conducted by the AFP, the Philippine National Police and Philippine Coast Guard in affected areas.

In the advisory of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of 6 p.m. Monday, there were 662 confirmed dead while 82 remain missing.

The total number of affected individuals is placed at 167,460 while the number of damaged houses is estimated at 9,214.

On the number of missing persons, Northern Mindanao still has the most number of missing at 280, while Central Visayas's Negros Oriental has 22 reported missing, and Armm's Lanao del Sur has seven still missing as of Monday.

Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of local police, reservists, coast guard officers and civilian volunteers were mobilized for rescue efforts, but were hampered by flooded-out roads and lack of electricity.

Rescuers in boats rushed offshore to save people swept out to sea.

In Compostela Valley, soldiers evacuated a total of 134 families after a flash flood, spawned by heavy downpour caused by Sendong, hit five barangays in Monkayo.

Major Maria Rosa Christina Manuel, executive officer of the 10th Civil Military Operations Battalion, said the flash flood hit the town center and the barangays of Baylo, Pasian, Union, Salvacion and Mt. Diwata mining site around 7:30 p.m. Friday.

She said five houses were washed away by the flooding while roads to eight puroks remained impassable.

Manuel said two landslides also occurred near the affected areas.

One remained missing in the flash floods.

Manuel said the displaced families were immediately taken to the safest evacuation site while soldiers continued the relief operation.

Help

The City Government of Davao is, meanwhile, sending five trucks of water and 10,000 grocery packs to the areas of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and El Salvador cities.

The Davao City Water District has also committed to send 10,000 pieces of bottled water.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said she already requested the City Council to authorize her to use the city coffers to help the flood-affected residents of Northern Mindanao.

She said Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will also be flying to the area on Tuesday, bringing with him P1 million in cash for distribution to the affected areas.

The Provincial Government of Sarangani headed by Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez is also sending relief goods to Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday.

He said they have allocated P500,000 worth of rice and blankets for the flood-affected residents of area.

They also urged their constituents to donate as well.

Among the items Sarangani is seeking are blankets, used clothing, canned goods and bottled waters.

Leaders around the world, including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, offered help and Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday said he would pray "for the victims, largely children, for the homeless, and for the numerous ones gone missing."

Mass burial

Meanwhile, Iligan Mayor Lawrence Cruz said Monday that he was suggesting a mass burial because of health concerns. Apart from the decomposing bodies, dead livestock lie scattered in the mud.

The proposed mass burial was opposed by the Department of Health (DOH), saying unclaimed corpses pose no health risks.

Among the diseases commonly associated with dead bodies include Hepatitis A, B, and C, salmonella, cholera, and rotavirus diarrhea.

The agency "does not recommend mass burials" for unclaimed corpses, DOH National Epidemiology Center Director Dr. Eric Tayag said. "Kung natatakot sila sa mga patay na katawan, na baka health hazard siya, walang health hazard yun. It’s dead kasi kaya baka isipin delikado, wala naman po."

He added that individual burials are better because it will help relatives to "move forward" from the sudden death of their loved ones.

"Bigyan ng mourning ang surviving families so they can move-on kasi may psychological effect yun e if they are not able to identify their dead and bury them properly," said Tayag.

Local officials have been forced to propose mass burials after funeral homes have been unable to process newly recovered corpses.

Survivors

Edmund Rubio, a 44-year-old engineer, said he, his wife and two children scrambled to the second floor of their house in Iligan City as floodwaters engulfed the first floor, destroying his television set and other appliances and washing away his car and motorcycle.

Amid the panic, he heard a loud pounding on his door as neighbors living in nearby one-storey houses pleaded with him to allow them up to his second floor.

He said he brought 30 neighbors to the safety of his house, which later shook when a huge floating log slammed into it.

"It's the most important thing, that all of us will still be together this Christmas," Rubio said.

About a block away from Rubio's house, rescuers used a backhoe and shovels to search for 19 people in the muddy ruins of a two-storey house that collapsed when it was hit by a massive log. They dug out 11 bodies from the site Saturday, witnesses said.

The flag at the Cagayan de Oro City Hall has been put in half-mast in sympathy to those who died in the incident. (Annabelle Ricalde of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sun.Star Davao/AP/Sunnex)