TWO people were reported killed, while 10 others were injured in Argao due to Typhoon Odette (Rai), which pummeled Cebu last Dec. 16, 2021.
The fatalities were a 70-year-old from Tagaytay, Balisong and a four-year-old from Lengigon, the Argao Rural Health Unit (RHU) said in a Facebook post a week after the storm.
A report by Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) head Flordeliza Botero as of Dec. 29, 2021 showed that the injured were in Barangays Catang, Jampang, Lengigon, Sumaguan, Tiguib and Tulang.
The RHU, however, said the injuries were mostly minor, comprising of open or lacerated wounds.
Municipal Councilor Jag Lucero Bacalso uploaded the MSWDO report on his Facebook page.
In terms of damage to homes, the MSWDO report showed that of the 21,115 households in Argao, 12,216 were partially damaged while at least 2,553 houses had been destroyed.
As of the 2020 census of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the population of Argao was 78,187.
Odette caused a province-wide blackout after its winds toppled power lines, causing problems with water supply and communication, even via hand-held radio, as radio repeaters had also been affected.
Water supply had not been sufficiently restored in the town as of Dec. 31, 2021, as the local government unit (LGU) was still making a water tanker available at the plaza in front of the Municipal Hall where each family was allowed to fill a container up to 20 liters.
As for power, Cebu 1 Electric Cooperative Inc. (Cebeco 1), which serves 18 LGUs in southern Cebu badly hit by Odette, including Argao, has given few updates on when consumers would get their power back.
Last Dec. 22, Cebeco 1 said power had been restored only in parts of the towns of Ginatilan and Samboan, especially the highway, and that it aimed to energize the highway from Boljoon to Oslob on the same day.
In terms of aid distribution, however, the RHU said as of Dec. 23, the municipal government had been providing food relief and assistance to families in the southeastern Cebu town’s 45 barangays.
On his Facebook page, Bacalso acknowledged aid received by the town, including rice and canned goods from the Cebu Provincial Government on Dec. 18; cash assistance of P100,000 from the Municipality of Daanbantayan on Dec. 22; and P1 million in cash assistance from Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia for the town, five water pumps, rice and other goods on Dec. 22, among others.
Covid-19 vaccination resumed in the town last Dec. 27, the RHU said.