Tacloban City under state of calamity

TACLOBAN CITY — Tacloban City was placed under a state of calamity yesterday to facilitate the release of funds for 42 of its 138 barangays which suffered the most from the wrath of typhoon "Seniang" last weekend.

The howler left damage to infrastructure placed at P11 million as well as one fatality and three injured, mostly due to fallen trees, the city’s disaster coordinating council said.

Mayor Bejo Romualdez ordered the release of P26 million from the city’s five percent calamity fund for relief assistance for the 3,111 families displaced by Seniang.

The Office of Civil Defense placed the typhoon damage to infrastructure and agricultural losses in Eastern Visayas at P330 million.

The three Samar provinces still have no power, as with 15 percent of Leyte.

In Aklan, meanwhile, workers of the Aklan Electric Cooperative are rushing the restoration of power on the resort island of Boracay.

"We are still experiencing an island-wide blackout," said PO1 Jackson Gauod of the Boracay Special Protection Unit. Most resorts, though, have power generators.

"It’s business as usual," said Gauod, adding that ferry service to the famed tourist destination has resumed. — Miriam Garcia Desacada, Ronilo Ladrido Pamonag