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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
98 killed in Typhoon Frank's wake: agency
MANILA -- The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said 98 persons died due to typhoon Frank (international codename: Fengshen), which battered Metro Manila, the Visayas and other parts of the country over the weekend.
More than a hundred thousand people were also reported affected and massive losses were noted in the agriculture and infrastructure sector.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
NDCC spokesman Anthony Golez said that of the reported deaths, only 63 were confirmed, meaning their bodies were recovered, while the 35 others -- all in the hardest hit province of Iloilo -- are subject to validation by the concerned agencies.
Of the 63 confirmed deaths, 23 were from Western Visayas, four from Central Visayas, three from Southern Tagalog-A, another three from Central Luzon, eight from Eastern Visayas, two from Northern Mindanao, two from Southern Mindanao, two from Central Mindanao, and 16 from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
The death toll does not include figures from the sunken m/v Princess of the Star, which capsized off Sibuyan town in Romblon last Saturday. The inter-island ferry was carrying over 800 passengers and crewmembers at the time of the tragedy.
As of 12 noon Monday, the NDCC also reported that 101,590 families or 504,711 persons were affected by the weather disturbance. Of the number, 14,631 families or 69,378 persons are now housed in evacuation centers where they are attended by relief workers.
Relief, rescue
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) are leading government agencies in carrying out disaster relief and rescue efforts for typhoon victims.
The rescue, relief, and retrieval operations carried out by the PNP and BFP were in response to the directive of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno for these agencies to assist in ongoing government efforts for the victims of the typhoon.
The BFP has helped rescue about 100 persons in Western Visayas, particularly in Iloilo City, which was inundated in neck-high floods at the height of the tropical storm.
Chief Superintendent Carlito Romero, BFP deputy chief for operations, said the bureau's Emergency Medical Services unit also provided medical aid to 25 victims; rescued 26 persons trapped in houses; and transported 75 evacuees to temporary relocation sites in Iloilo City.
In Passi City in Iloilo, BFP personnel were able to rescue 13 persons, including three children trapped during the flooding, and evacuated 25 families.
The bureau dispatched vehicles to transport evacuees in typhoon-affected areas in Laguna and nearby provinces, and assisted in the evacuation of 251 families in Marinduque.
It was also able to rescue a fishing boat carrying three passengers from the shorelines of San Fernando in Romblon Province and nine passengers in a pump boat anchored in Cuyo, Palawan.
The PNP, for its part, has activated "Oplan Sagip," which mobilizes all its units in helping implement relief and rescue operations in coordination with local government units (LGUs).
Puno earlier ordered the PNP, BFP and other Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-attached agencies to assist in ongoing relief and rescue efforts for victims of the typhoon.
He said the PNP and BFP should closely coordinate with the LGUs, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), NDCC, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other government agencies concerned with conducting operations to aid the typhoon victims.
The Department of Health (DOH), in helping the victims of typhoon Frank, has sent an initial of P471,437.55 worth of medicines and other supplies to Western Visayas.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III also reported that the DOH regional office in Western Visayas also distributed compact foods as well as oral rehydration medicines to the evacuation centers in the provinces.
It was learned that Western Visayas was the most affected by the storm.
According to Duque, the municipality of Saday in Negros Occidental experienced a tornado resulting in the damage of over 100 houses in the town.
The DOH team is continuously monitoring the situation. A 24-hour operations center was activated, and regular updates are being sent to the DOH central office and NDCC.
Repair
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said the typhoon destroyed about P710 million worth of infrastructure, excluding government installations and school buildings.
DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has already issued specific directives to immediately work on the repair of the damaged roads.
Ebdane said he has already mobilized DPWH regional directors to avail of emergency procurement for funding to be used to alleviate the plight of the communities at large.
Clearing operations
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) meanwhile deployed rescue and emergency teams along with their heavy equipment to help LGUs clear the streets, drainage systems, and waterways of debris and garbage.
MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando said the agency is now coordinating with the NDCC and local officials of the provinces of Iloilo, Mindoro, Leyte, La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas and Bulacan where MMDA rescue, flood control and sidewalk personnel, trucks and heavy equipment in tow are most needed, for massive clearing operations.
The decision to deploy the team to the provinces reportedly came after the MMDA received an order from the President to extend the agency's flood control and clearing expertise to the affected provinces in the aftermath of the typhoon.
"I received the order from the President to extend our assistance to these provinces during Sunday's command conference of the National Disaster Coordinating Council at the Department of National Defense," Fernando said.
He said it was not the first time that the agency would mobilize its resources outside of Metro Manila, adding that they have also sent a team to the Bicol region in the aftermath of the 2006 typhoon Reming, which battered the region.
President Arroyo, who is on a 10-day visit to the US, participated in the command conference through a teleconference where she ordered government agencies to extend assistance to residents affected by the typhoon and conduct rescue and relief operations.
Classes
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said classes will resume on Tuesday in all public and private elementary, high schools, and colleges.
However, there are some schools in the metropolis whose classes would remain suspended due to flooding.
Among them were 13 schools in Malabon and Navotas, 10 in Valenzuela City, and one in Manila.
Metro Manila was not badly hit by the storm.
According to Lapus, classes shall also remain suspended in areas where school buildings are being used as evacuation centers.
He said about 72 schools in the affected regions are being utilized as evacuation centers for 1,246 families.
Power restoration
The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) reported that power supply in their franchise area, particularly Metro Manila, has normalized.
Meralco vice president Roberto Almazora assured that the power firm is speeding up the restoration work of the few remaining areas still without electricity.
Last Saturday morning, power supply in the large part of Metro Manila and nearby provinces was cut after the typhoon damaged some Meralco posts and transmission lines. (Sunnex)
Related stories:
Classes in typhoon-hit areas suspended
Frank damages P20M worth of crops, properties in north
Landslide kills 1 in Lake Sebu
Frank-spawned flashflood displaced 1,394 families
Arroyo orders crackdown on profiteers in Frank wake
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (June 24, 2008 issue)
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Divers find bodies in overturned ferry