Some 258 people have been reported dead, 47 missing, and 568 injured when typhoon Odette, the 15th to hit the country this year, lashed Mindanao and the Visayas, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday.
The number is lower than the tally of the Philippine National Police which placed the death toll at 375.
Most of the victims died due to drowning and getting hit by falling trees, NDRRMC said.
A total of 2,196,432 people or 585,029 families were affected by the typhoon in 4,566 barangays.
Some 486,361 people or 122,575 families were staying inside 2,535 evacuation centers, while 123,341 individuals or 29,906 families were staying in the houses of their relatives and friends.
Meanwhile, the PNP clarified Thursday that all reported incidents relating to casualties from the onslaught of Odette were properly documented and investigated by various police units and were still subject to validation.
“The reported casualties are submitted to the Office of Civil Defense and these are subject to validation by OCD (Office of Civil Defense), DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) and DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development,” PNP chief General Dionardo Carlos said.
He also added that PNP units handling these data exercise due diligence to preclude possibilities of redundant or omitted entry that may compromise the accuracy of information.
“Ultimately, it’s the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council that takes the role as the overall in-charge of pre-disaster and post-disaster response in our country. All reported incidents to the police units are further evaluated by the NDRRMC,” Carlos said.
Carlos also said the PNP is asking for understanding if fatality figures between the organization and other government agencies may not match since there is a protocol for the validation undertaken by the NDRRMC.
“Search, rescue, and retrieval operations are still underway in some areas, so it’s premature to conclude the numbers, not to mention the limitation in the communication system due to interrupted signal connection that may delay the reporting scheme,” Carlos said.