City sends help to Catanduanes

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City government is sending a 30-man team to Catanduanes next week to help in the rebuilding efforts of the typhoon-hit province and to deliver the P5-million financial assistance from the city.

Mayor Edgardo Labella said the team will be led by Councilor David Tumulak. The mayor said the city is sending engineers and electricians ahead on Monday to assist in the clearing operations.

Labella said that Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua told him during their conversation that the province has yet to start the clearing operation. He said Cua appreciated the city government’s gesture to help.

“Grabe ang mga nangatangtang and nangaputol na mga kahoy. Until now, wala pa gyud na cleared and cleaned ang area. It will take weeks to clear them,” said Labella.

The city contingent will bring with them two truckloads of food packs and other goods donated by well-meaning Cebuanos through the city government.

Tumulak and the rest of the members of the team—PIO staff, doctors and nurses--- will leave on Wednesday on board a C-130 plane of the Philippine Air Force.

Tumulak will bring the P5-million check donation for Catanduanes that City Council had approved earlier. Labella was not keen on giving cash donation to Catanduanes because the city is also reeling from the effects of the pandemic. However, the City Council decided to give cash donation instead of purchasing sacks of rice and other relief goods for assistance.

The island province of Catanduanes is among the badly-hit provinces by super typhoon Rolly.

In a meeting aired late Thursday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque reported that at least 35,000 families in Catanduanes have been affected by the typhoon. Of the figure, over 7,000 people are in evacuation centers, while 45,886 are seeking temporary refuge in others’ homes.

Rolly—the world’s strongest storm this year and a super typhoon at its height—made its first landfall over Bato town in Catanduanes early Sunday. Its destructive winds and intense rains knocked down cell towers and power lines, destroyed buildings and triggered flash floods and mudslides.

Roque said the storm left some 10,000 houses in the province totally damaged and 19,000 other severely damaged.

“With the severity of the damage, it might need a Yolanda-like rehabilitation because 19,000 homes have been damaged. You can see from the air, those that survived were only commercial building but all buildings in downtown sustained damaged,” Roque also said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council reported that damage to infrastructure across nine regions in the Philippines stood at P8.4 billion, while agriculture at P2.9 billion as of Thursday.

The Bicol region, which bore the brunt of Rolly, sustained the highest extent of damage as it accounted for P7.2 billion in damage to infrastructure, while 2.3 billion to crops and livestock. At least 20 people died and 165 were injured during the onslaught of Rolly

Meanwhile, the Cebu City government has started preparing for the possible effects of tropical depression Tonyo.

Tumulak said they have pre-positioned heavy equipment in the mountain barangays in the north, south and central areas. The city has also conducted declogging operations in flood-prone areas.

Buses are also on standby for deployment to help possible stranded residents. Tropical depression Tonyo is expected to affect the Visayas regions, including Cebu City, based on the weather forecast of PAGASA.

“Prayers lang gyud nga hopefully, this will not affect us, but let us stay vigilant,” said Tumulak. — FPL (FREEMAN)