SIXTEEN people died when the tropical cyclone named Rolly (Goni) barreled through Bicol region as a super typhoon with fierce winds and torrential rains that toppled trees and electric posts, ripped off roofs and triggered lahar or volcanic mudflow.
The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol region said on Monday, November 2, 2020, that five of the fatalities were from Albay province, where the lahar from Mayon Volcano inundated hundreds of houses and may have buried alive some residents of Guinobatan.
Three residents of Guinobatan were reported missing.
The other fatalities were from Gigmoto, Virac and San Miguel in Catanduanes. The typhoon first hit land as a super typhoon with winds of 225 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 280 kph over Bato, Catanduanes.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson Mark Timbal said they were verifying reports that some residents of Guinobatan were buried alive under rocks and mud.
He noted, though, that the regional DRRMC conducted preemptive evacuation in the affected areas ahead of the typhoon.
Affected population
The NDRRMC said a total of 372,653 families or more than two million individuals were affected by the typhoon in Luzon regions, namely, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batanga, Rizal and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), Bicol, Cordillera Administrative Region and National Capital Region.
The Visayas regions - Western, Central and Eastern Visayas - as well as Zamboanga Peninsula were also affected.
Of the total number of affected families, 108,555 families or 389,867 persons were preemptively evacuated as early as Saturday, October 31, 2020, from their homes in low-lying areas, coastal areas and other high-risk areas.
In a televised press briefing, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Felicisimo Budiongan said food packs and non-food items were already prepositioned and were ready for distribution to the affected families.
Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, OCD administrator, said they have lost contact with officials of Catanduanes.
He said they have deployed teams to establish satellite, and voice and data communication facilities in Catanduanes while 607 transportation assets were deployed for disaster response and delivery of logistics to the affected population.
Search and rescue
Lieutenant General Hawthorne Binag, Philippine National Police (PNP) deputy chief for operations, said a total of 6,107 personnel were deployed for the conduct of search, rescue and retrieval operations in the affected areas while over 17,000 more were still on standby.
As ordered by PNP Chief Camilo Cascolan, Binag said 100 personnel from the Central Visayas Police Regional Office will be deployed in Bicol to assist in the conduct of operations.
Cascolan allowed policemen whose families were affected by the calamity to go home and attend to their families.
Binag said they were focusing on four areas: search and rescue operations; ensure peace and order as well as the observance of health protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic in the evacuation centers; secure the communities of the displaced population especially against looting; and the conduct of relief operations from their food bank.
Binag said Monday morning that Cascolan was on his way to Bicol to oversee the conduct of operations there as well as assess the extent of typhoon damage.
Infrastructure, crop damage
Binag said the Bicol regional police director estimated that 90 percent of the infrastructure in Catanduanes were damaged or destroyed by the typhoon.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar said 117 road sections, including two in CAR, two in Central Luzon, one in Calabarzon, and 12 in Bicol, were closed to traffic after sustaining damage from landslides, flooding, and fallen trees and electrical posts.
He said they had pre-positioned 777 pieces of heavy equipment and vehicles, 518 tools and light equipment, and 4,931 personnel ahead of the typhoon.
Damage assessment was still being conducted, he added.
Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar, meanwhile, said P1.1 billion worth of crops, including rice, corn and other high-value crops, were destroyed.
This is lower than the P2-billion damage from Typhoon Quinta, which also hit Bicol and southern Luzon a week ago.
Dar said officials of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Bicol saved P16.9 billion worth of rice and P579 million worth of corn ahead of the typhoon.
Post-calamity operations
Earlier in a press conference, Cascolan said he also alerted his men against communist rebels who may take advantage of the situation.
“Ang apela lang natin (sa communist rebels) ay pagbigyan po sana ang ating mga government forces na pumasok sa mga lugar na apektado ng insurgency. Sana naman ay makipagtulungan na sila. Bumaba na sila kasi lost cause na po kayo,” he said.
“Ang atin po ay tumutulong po tayo sa tao. Kung gusto niyo po talagang tumulong sa tao sumama kayo sa amin at tayo ay tumulong sa komunidad at mga barangays,” he added.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has also assured the conduct of operations to help the affected families.
Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said the Bureau of Fire Protection has deployed 1,557 firetrucks and 80 ambulances to take part in the post-calamity operations.
No electricity
Meanwhile, Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that as of 6 a.m., 53,863 households in Calabarzon, Bulacan, Metro Manila and Bicol were experiencing power supply interruption.
He said in Catanduanes, there was totally no power supply.
Cusi said six power plants went on emergency shutdown as a contingency measure to avoid damage.
He said utility companies were already working double time for the restoration of power supply in the affected areas.
Health protocols
Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has also appealed for the immediate restoration of power supply as he expressed concern over the cold chain storage for vaccines and Covid-19 swab specimens.
He said several health workers in the affected regions were unable to report for duty due to the onslaught of the typhoon.
Duque reminded the local government units (LGUs) to observe minimum health protocols such as the wearing of face masks and face shields, and physical distancing in the evacuation centers to prevent the further spread of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
He said LGUs should deploy safety officers in the evacuation centers for symptoms screening, and clinical and exposure assessment of evacuees. High-risk individuals like the elderly, children, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals should be isolated.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said airports in the country are fully operational except those in Virac and Naga due to major damage caused by the typhoon.
The train systems have also resumed operations.
Año commended LGU officials for the preparations they made ahead of Rolly, which was tagged as the strongest typhoon in the world in 2020.
He said damage and casualties would have been greater were it not for the preparations made by the local governments in coordination with the national government and concerned government agencies in their areas. (SunStar Philippines)