NDRRMC: 258 reported dead due to Odette; agri and infra damage up to P3.6B
MANILA, Philippines — Reported death toll due to Typhoon Odette rose to 258, while combined damage to infrastructure and agriculture ballooned to more than P3.6 billion, the country’s disaster agency reported.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, in its situation report as of Thursday morning, said they have confirmed 11 fatalities and are validating 247 reported deaths.
The number of reported injured persons rose to 568, with two so far validated.
There are also 47 persons reported as missing, the NDRRMC added.
Bohol reported the most deaths with 96 fatalities, followed by Negros Oriental with 66, Cebu with 58 and Surigao del Norte with 21.
Deaths were also reported in Palawan, Iloilo, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Butuan City and Agusan del Sur.
NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal earlier explained that the higher death toll that the Philippine National Police posts give the disaster agency a “projection” of possible number of casualties. He however said the Council reports casualties coming from their local counterparts.
The NDRRMC also monitored 2,196,432 persons or 585,029 families affected by Odette in 4,566 barangays in the regions of Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, Caraga and BARMM regions.
The government’s 2,535 evacuation centers are providing temporary shelter to 486,361 persons or 122,575 families, while 123,341 individuals or 29,906 families opted to stay with their friends or relatives.
Odette damage
Odette’s powerful winds toppled electric posts in areas along its path, resulting in reports of 269 cities or municipalities losing power. Of these, electricity has been restored in 144 localities.
Communication was also affected in 348 areas in seven regions, but lines were already restored in 112 localities.
The NDRRMC also reported 136,369 damaged houses due to the typhoon. Of these, 52,736 were completely flattened by Odette, while 83,633 were recorded as partially damaged.
The agency said damage to agriculture has also ballooned to more than P1.152 billion. Odette has affected 15,845 hectares of crop area in eight regions. Infrastructure damage meanwhile is estimated at P2.537 billion.
The government has also declared a state of calamity in a total of 33 localities in six regions. Nearly P16 million in aid was also distributed to the affected communities, the NDRRMC said.
Assistance from foreign countries meanwhile continues to pour in for Odette’s victims. — Kristine Joy Patag
PAGASA says severe tropical storm Rai entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility at around 7 p.m. Tuesday. It was assigned the local name Odette.
Telco giant Globe has completed network service repairs in municipalities of Anda, Dauis, Loon and Panglao in Bohol, San Fernando in Cebu, and Baybay, Albuera in Leyte, and Limasawa in Southern Leyte.
Services in Mindanao's Tagana-an, Surigao del Norte have also been restored as of January 4.
Globe says it has equipped local government units affected by Super Typhoon Odette with an M360 platform, used to send SMS updates to their offices and constituencies. "Palawan, Southern Leyte, and Cebu municipalities Naga, Cordova and the city of Mandaue, were among the first to avail of this free service," the telco says in a release.
Network coverage has been restored in 98% of areas with PLDT and Smart coverage in Bacolod.
The telco group says in a release that network services have been restored in 90% of Visayas cities and municipalities affected by Super Typhoon Odette.
Earlier, PLDT-Smart reported the full restoration of services in Antique, Iloilo, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Western Samar.
The Technical Education and Skils Development Authority in the Cordillera is sending 19 trainers to Bohol, one of the provinces that was hit hard by Super Typhoon Odette last December.
The trainers will help in the recovery and rebuilding efforts in the province by giving skills training to Boholanons.
TESDA Cordillera, along with the TESDA in the Ilocos region, will be giving free training, particularly on construction-related courses. The training will help in the rebuilding homes and other structures destroyed by the strongest typhoon that visited the country since Super Typhoon Yolanda.
The trainers are from the Provincial Training Centers of TESDA Kalinga, TESDA Mountain Province, TESDA Abra, TESDA Apayao, and TESDA Ifugao. There are four trainers for Electrical Installation and Maintenance, nine trainers for Carpentry, and six trainers for Masonry. — The STAR/Artemio Dumlao
The Department of the Interior and Local Government and other regional goverment offices in SOCCSKSARGEN has sent relief supplies for typhoon-stricken areas in the Caraga Region.
The supplies were transported in a 24-vehicle convoy that included dump trucks.
The humanitarian mission is a joint initiative of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Regional Task Force on COVID-19.
The convoy on Tuesday follows an initial shipment of relief supplies to the Caraga Region that the DILG regional office initiated.
The provisions — clothings, food rations and hygiene kits — were received by DILG personnel in the Caraga region. — The STAR/John Unson
Total agriculture damage from Typhoon Odette is at P5.79 billion and counting, Agriculture Secretary William Dar says.
More than 70,000 hectares of agricultural land were affected.
Meanwhile, more than 506,000 houses were damaged by the super typhoon and may reach up to 600,000, Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario says.
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