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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Typhoon Mina death toll rises to 22
MANILA –- Typhoon Mina (international codename: Mitag) left 22 people dead, one injured, and eight missing as of Wednesday.
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) executive officer Glenn Rabonza said seven of the fatalities were from Camarines Sur; three each in Palawan and Cagayan; two each in Apayao and Kalinga; and one each in Camarines Sur and Isabela.
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Most of the fatalities, a number of them are young children, perished due to drowning, said Rabonza, who is also the administrator of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).
Some of the fatalities, he added, succumbed after they were buried in landslides while some died of hypothermia.
Huge storm waves Tuesday night pounded the Philippines' west coast and killed three more people, officials said.
The injured was from Pangasinan.
Of the eight still missing, five are from Cagayan, two in Palawan, and another in Apayao.
The two missing in Palawan are Air Force pilots whose reconnaissance plane went missing last Monday after going on a maritime patrol at the Kalayaan Group of Islands.
Meanwhile, the Philippine coast guard Wednesday said 12 Chinese fishermen went missing after strong winds and big waves battered their two boats near a Philippine-held island in the South China Sea.
The Chinese Embassy asked the Philippines to help search for the fishermen, coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Armand Balilo said.
Chinese Consul General Guo Shaochun reported that the Chinese fishermen had called the China Maritime Rescue Center to ask for help after their boats encountered the waves. It was not immediately clear when or how they called.
Balilo said the fishing boats were presumed to have sunk in bad weather near Pag-asa Island - one of several islands held by the Philippines in the disputed Spratly island chain.
The Spratlys - believed to be rich in oil, gas and mineral deposits - straddle busy sea lanes and rich fishing grounds. They are claimed entirely or partly by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
At least 120,607 families or 552,344 persons from the affected Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A, 5, 8, and the Cordillera Administrative Region have been affected, according to Rabonza. Of the number, 12,175 families or 56,420 persons are staying in 129 evacuation centers.
He added that they have documented at least 134 houses being destroyed by the weather disturbance. Around 3,599 others have been damaged, he said.
Rabonza said the NDCC and attached agencies like the social welfare and health departments, local government units, and other non-government organizations have extended a total of P14.8 million in assistance to the victims. (VR/Sunnex/With AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (November 29, 2007 issue)
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