CATBALOGAN CITY -- Typhoon Nona (Melor) has killed at least four people and displaced some 10,000 residents in Samar and Northern Samar provinces after it hit the region Monday, the Eastern Visayas Regional Disaster and Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) said.
Edgar L. Posadas, chair of the RDRMMC-Eastern Visayas, identified the first fatality as Pascual Ancente Jr., 31, of Allen, Northern Samar. He died due to multiple lacerated wounds and head trauma after a galvanized iron sheet hit him.
Tessie Villanueva Baladad, 38, of Barangay Caguingay, Lope de Vega, Northern Samar, also died due to drowning in Catarman, the province's capital.
The third victim identified as Abundio Bello, 83, of Barangay San Jose village, Lope de Vega, Northern Samar, collapsed and died on his way to the evacuation center.
In Samar province, 28-year-old Jason Blesario also died due to drowning.
3 more feared dead
Unconfirmed reports from the Catarman DRRM also said that three more persons died.
"One person died of hypothermia while two others drowned in floods in the poor fishing town of Catarman town in Northern Samar," municipal disaster officer Jonathan Baldo told dzMM radio.
2 fishermen survived at sea
In Samar’s Calbayog City, two fishermen reportedly survived when their boat capsized due to strong waves Monday evening.
Rogelio Galecio, 45, and his son-in-law, Japeth Picorro, 22, both residents of Bacjao village in Almagro, Samar, said the strong current separate them, adding that they were floating at sea for at least 12 hours.
“I was at sea floating for almost 12 hours. I used a plastic container as my lifesaving device and tried my best to swim and survive. It was already around 9:30 in the evening on Monday when I reached the seashore of Rawis village in Calbayog City,” Galecio recalled while being treated for minor injuries, together with Japeth, at Calbayog General Hospital.
Displaced families
Authorities reported that about 2,349 families or 9,371 individuals were displaced by Typhoon Nona, based on the 2 p.m. Tuesday assessment report.
The figures did not include 14 more municipalities that were not able to send updates due to power outage.
But based on the report, Nona has displaced nearly 8,000 families or 30,851 persons in the three Samar provinces.
Disaster officials said more than 20,000 remained in evacuation centers in Basey, Gandara, San Jorge, San Jose de Buan, Sta. Margarita, and Villareal towns in Samar; Arteche, Jipapad, Maslog, Oras, San Policarpo, all in Eastern Samar; and Biri, Catarman, Catubig, Laoang, Lapinig, Lope de Vega, Rosario, San Antonio, and San Jose in Northern Samar.
In Catbalogan City, Mayor Stephany Uy Tan said that 280 families that have occupied 16 evacuation centers in the city have returned to their homes.
Relief packs delivered
Meanwhile, the Social Welfare and Development regional office reported that relief foods have been distributed to the affected families in Samar provinces.
In a report forwarded to the RDRMMC, canned goods and around 200 bags of rice, each bag containing 50 kilos, were delivered to Northern Samar on Tuesday, December 15. Another batch of 2,000 bags of rice followed later on that day.
In Eastern Samar, 200 bags of rice were also delivered to Oras town and 200 other bags in Arteche.
Badly affected areas (based on the number of evacuees) are Biri, Catarman, Catubig, Laoang, Lapinig, Rosario, and San Jose in Northern Samar; Almagro, Pinabacdao, Catbalogan City, and Sta. Margarita in Samar; San Policarpio, Oras and Arteche in Eastern Samar.
Affected roads
Of the three major roads in Northern Samar, only the Lope de Vega road is passable as of Tuesday, December 15.
The Mapanas–Palapag road and Allen–Catarman road are still impassable. The Hibacaan Bridge in San Jose de Buan in Samar collapsed, rendering it impassable.
The Army 20th Infantry Battalion has started clearing the Palapag–Lapinig roads, while the 14th Infantry Battalion started clearing the Eastern Samar to Northern Samar Pacific Towns road (Lapinig-Gamay-Mapanas-Palapag road).
The Catarman Airport is now clear for landing, said disaster officials in the area.
Teams from the Office of Civil Defense and from the Department of Health (DOH) have been going around, conducting assessments in Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Samar provinces.
On Tuesday afternoon, the RDRMMC Regional Incident Management Team and various radio communications volunteer groups proceeded to Northern Samar to augment the response operations in the province.
Additional personnel from the DOH, Philippine National Police, Local Government, and 8ID, among other disaster agencies, were also deployed in the area.
Power, cell sites still down
Power for most municipalities in Samar was reportedly restored noontime Tuesday, but there is still widespread brownout in the provinces of Northern Samar and Eastern Samar due to damaged power transmission lines and electric posts.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and electric cooperatives in three Samar provinces said “restoration” is ongoing.
Major communication networks such as Globe and Smart have no service yet.
Meanwhile, churches in Samar not affected by Typhoon Nona celebrated their first "Misa de Gallo" Wednesday morning (December 16) and dedicated the mass to the victims and survivors of the typhoon. (Sunnex)