THE death toll from Tropical Storm “Urduja” soared to 41 Tuesday with the recovery of 10 more bodies from a Biliran village hit by a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains brought by the cyclone last week, officials said.
Search-and-rescue teams and civilian volunteers also pressed the search for at least 23 others who were reported missing since Sunday.
The number of fatalities in Biliran went up to 33 following the recovery of the 10 bodies in different parts of Naval town and in nearby Caibiran.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 92,613 people have been displaced by flood and landslides in the province and other nearby areas. Continuous heavy rains loosened up soil in the affected areas and triggered landslides.
A total of 248,790 people in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas and Caraga region were affected by the cyclone, the NDRRMC said.
Rescuers were still digging in areas where residential houses once stood before they were buried under tons of rock and muddy water, trapping many of the victims.
The tropical storm toppled electric lines and posts triggering major power outage in Biliran and damaging roads, bridges and other government and private infrastructure.
Authorities said they expect to restore power in the province before the end of the week.
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered massive search, rescue and relief operations amid calls for more gasoline and potable water in the hardest-hit province.
The NDRRMC said most of the deaths were caused by landslides and drowning. Apart from those killed in Biliran, the NDRRMC also reported two fatalities from Samar; one from Leyte; and five from Eastern Samar. An elderly couple was also reported killed in San Fernando on the island of Sibuyan in Romblon province.
The government has already distributed P37 million worth of food packs and non-food items to the evacuees. ‘Urduja’ stranded thousands of passengers as the Coast Guard stopped all ships and other vessels from sailing.
About 20 domestic flights were also canceled.
However, sea and air travel in the affected areas have already resumed due to good weather.
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office on Tuesday said it is releasing on Wednesday P10 million from its yearly calamity fund that can be used to aid the victims of Urduja that battered some provinces in the Visayas.
PCSO Chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz said the board will tackle during its regular meeting on Wednesday the release of the funds for the typhoon victims.
“We initially approved the immediate release of P10 million to buy for medicines and water for the typhoon victims. We have a yearly calamity fund of P100 million approved by the Department of Budget and Management [DBM] for natural and man-made disasters. For 2017, we’ve more than P95 million left. So we can use that for the typhoon victims,” PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan said.
Balutan said he will also recommend to the board to forego a portion of the budget for the Yuletide fellowship of PCSO employees to buy for medicines, water and that can be used also to defray the hospitalization expenses of individuals injured from the typhoon.
Meanwhile, the National Food Authority has already issued a total of 10,464 bags of rice to local government units for distribution to victims of Urduja that brought devastation to several regions of the country.
According to reports from NFA field offices, Region V (Bicol Region) has already released 3,436 bags of rice for relief operations in four provinces as follows: NFA Camarines Sur-1,398 bags; Sorsogon-1,298 bags; Albay-640 bags; and Masbate-100 bags.
In Region 08 where the center of the typhoon landed, a total of 6,752 bags were released by NFA for relief operations: 2,900 bags of rice were released to Eastern Samar; 3,682 bags to Northern Samar; and 170 bags to Biliran, Northern Leyte. With minimal damage, Region IV reported only 266 bags of rice withdrawn for relief while only 10 bags were withdrawn in Region VII (Aklan).
NFA Administrator Jason L. Y. Aquino assured the public that even with the great devastation the typhoon has caused, there is sufficient rice supply in the affected regions.
