Search and rescue shift to retrieval

MANILA, Philippines - After a week of search and rescue operations stymied by damaged roads, unstable power supply and bad weather, disaster teams in the earthquake-devastated Bohol have shifted to retrieval operations as hopes of finding alive any or all of the remaining 13 missing persons fade.

“The rescue operations have ended and instead we are now conducting recovery operations,” National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Eduardo del Rosario told reporters yesterday in Tagbilaran City.

“We are still looking for 13 persons. Our responders are now on site to recover their bodies,” Del Rosario said.

The missing include five children who were last seen playing by a waterfall in Sagbayan town minutes before the magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Bohol and neighboring provinces. Six of the missing were from Loon, and one each from Clarin and an unnamed village.

As of yesterday, Del Rosario said the number of fatalities in Bohol totaled 167. The earthquake also killed 12 people in Cebu and one in Siquijor, authorities said, citing latest data.

In Bohol alone, the quake left 393 wounded, mostly from falling debris. The quake has affected 3.4 million people in Bohol and Cebu.

In Bohol, many schools remain closed and some hospitals have been forced to evacuate patients due to frequent aftershocks. Many patients were sharing open spaces and makeshift tents with hundreds of traumatized survivors.

“With this development, we have concluded that there is no need anymore to request for additional responders. The presence of disaster units here in Bohol to assist in the ongoing retrieval operations is enough,” Del Rosario said.

He assured affected residents in the province that there are enough relief goods for distribution and that all the ravaged towns have received their initial share of emergency supplies, including food and medicine.

He said survivors trapped in isolated villages may contact – if possible – the regional disaster command center for assistance by texting 0917-6274714 or by sending a message through Facebook or Twitter.

He said Philippine Air Force helicopters are on standby for quick deployment to deliver relief goods.

“If there is a request for assistance, the Air Force with their choppers will immediately dispatch relief goods to remote areas if relief goods have not reached them yet,” Del Rosario said.

Bohol is known for its pristine beaches, its rolling Chocolate Hills, tiny tarsier primates, and centuries-old Catholic churches, many of which collapsed or sustained heavy damage in the quake.

There were no reports of foreign casualties.

Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto told the same news conference that power had been restored in the province while major roads blocked by landslides had reopened, speeding up the delivery of relief goods.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced yesterday the restoration of electricity in all town centers in Bohol.

But some households are still without power as inspection and repairs are ongoing, according to the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

The DOE, NEA, and Bohol I Electric Cooperative, the province’s electricity service provider, said power restoration efforts are being rushed.

The DOE also said it is working for the restoration of fuel supply in Bohol in coordination with oil companies.

Energy Undersecretary Raul Aguilos said the department is also studying the deployment of small generator sets to temporarily address the power requirements of key facilities and communication services while the structural integrity of buildings and establishments across the province is being checked. – With Iris Gonzales