Thursday, November 22, 2007 Lando wrecks P18M in infra
APART from destroying farm crops, tropical storm Lando also damaged P17.5 million worth of infrastructure and road networks in Central Visayas.
The town of Minglanilla, Cebu reported P300,000 worth of damaged agricultural products, public shelters and belongings.
These brought to nearly P30 million the cost of damaged properties in the region, as the storm destroyed P11.2 million worth of corn in 16 barangays of Bantayan town, Cebu.
While the region is still tallying costs of damage wrought by the storm, another storm is threatening to hit the country. President Arroyo has ordered 2,000 residents in Bicol to evacuate.
Neil Angelo Sanchez, Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) 7 operations officer, said the typhoon Lando caused landslides in hilly areas, potholes in highways, damaged road surface and cave-ins of road shoulders.
These include the circumferential road in Mactan Island, Cebu; Cebu-Hagnaya road and Bogo-Corva-Medellin-Daanbantayan highway in northern Cebu; the Antonio y de Pio highway; the Bais-Cabancalan road in Oriental Negros; and the Cortes-Balilihan-Catigbian-Macaas road in Bohol.
It also damaged a waiting shed and uprooted an acacia tree in Lapu-Lapu City.
Sanchez said there were no additional reports of fatalities brought about by the fast-moving storm in the region, except 10-year-old Agnes Tabay.
Accompanied by her aunt, Tabay, an elementary pupil, was crossing a stream in the uphill village of Toong, Cebu City when she was swept away by rampaging waters. Her body was found in the Inayawan dumpsite the next day.
Until yesterday, fisherman Edmund Lazarte, 65, who was declared missing since Monday in Bayawan City, Oriental Negros, still has not been found by authorities.
Sanchez said a local disaster team already downgraded its rescue operations to retrieval.
Lazarte was reportedly caught by the storm while fishing off Bayawan.
The Cebu Provincial Government, meanwhile, pledged to help victims of Lando in Talisay City rebuild their houses.
Provincial Social Welfare Office chief Marivic Garces said Capitol will give P3,000 worth of housing materials to each family who lost their homes during the typhoon. The Talisay City Government will match the amount so the victims will receive a total of P6,000 worth of housing materials.
Also yesterday, Capitol gave out mats and groceries to 24 families from four Talisay barangays: Jaclupan, Manipis, Cansojong and Lagtang.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia turned over the items to the Talisay City Government yesterday.
Among the victims is a woman who just delivered a child a month ago. The victims said they were thankful that Capitol immediately helped them.
Garces said only Talisay sent Capitol a list of families affected by the storm. Other LGUs only reported damages on crops.
Garces, however, assured residents that Capitol will immediately give assistance as soon as other LGUs submit a report that there are victims in their areas.
Alex Padin of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa)-Mactan said that as of yesterday, tropical storm Mina was 870 kilometers east of the Bicol sea.
The storm is moving toward Virac-Catanduanes at 85 kilometers per hour (kph) at the center and with winds of 100 kph.
Padin said that because the weather disturbance is moving westward, there is a possibility that it will hit northern Cebu.
Armando Danag, also of Pag-asa Mactan told Sun.Star Cebu that based on satellite and surface data, Mina is 870 kilometers (km) east of Bicol Region.
Danag said Pag-asa forecasts the storm to be at 495 km east of Virac today and 130 km east of Virac by tomorrow morning. By Saturday morning, Danag said storm Mina will be at the vicinity of Camarines Norte.
“This means mag-landfall na ang bagyo by Saturday morning,” Danag said.
Lando was spotted yesterday at about 370 kilometers west of Punta Princesa, Palawan. (GC/MBG/EOB)
