Typhoon “Rolly” damaged up to 90 percent of all infrastructure in Catanduanes province, Philippine National Police deputy director for operations Lt. Gen. Cesar Hawthorne Binag said Monday.
"I talked to the regional director before I came here… So far, we established and it was reported that 90 percent of the infrastructure was damaged," Binag said, without offering any details.
Government officials said communications in the province was limited while rescue teams were unable to reach the area to help affected residents and to determine the extent of the damage.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said it was difficult to reach those in Catanduanes, including the local officials, but said Coast Guard personnel were deployed to check on the situation in the province.
"Governor (Joseph) Cua was given a satellite phone but for some reason he could not be contacted. The Coast Guard personnel are on their way, so we will have efficient communication, and we will know the extent of the damage that happened in Catanduanes," he said.
Commandant Admiral George Ursabia, Jr. said that PCG’s Islander plane has already been dispatched to Catanduanes early Morning morning, with clear directives to render the necessary assistance to the typhoon-ravaged province, and areas where immediate rescue and relief missions were needed.
Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said they are also validating information about the four reported casualties in the province.
The Philippine Red Cross reported that parts of Virac in Catanduanes are not passable due to debris and flood while the power supply was cut off.
Four major airports in the Bicol region were affected by the onslaught of the typhoon on Sunday.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines reported that the Legazpi Airport passenger terminal building sustained minimal damage in its ceiling boards and runway lights while the airport in Virac stopped its operation since Saturday because of the bad weather.
The CAAP also reported that the passenger terminal building, the fire station building, administration building, and the vehicular parking area in Naga Airport sustained serious damage brought by the typhoon.
Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said 80 percent to 90 percent of houses in Virac in Catanduanes were damaged by the typhoon.
Gordon said Catanduanes, which is an isolated island in the Bicol region, was devastated by typhoon Rolly.
"A supermarket in Virac was totally damaged, even our (Philippine Red Cross) chapter building was destroyed, the airport and seaport were also damaged. Hospitals have [also sustained] minor damage," he said.
He said the PRC has mobilized to bring relief goods, including water, to the typhoon-damaged areas.
"We are sending our rescue trucks, ambulance and there water tankers because there was no water. Also, we will provide them with a desalination system for the water from the sea. Fuel tankers will be going around. We will also provide 24 generators in Virac, San Andres, and Bato, which were hard hit by the typhoon," Gordon said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Catanduanes and Albay, the hardest hit provinces, suffered widespread damage in agriculture and infrastructure.
NDRRMC executive director Ricardo Jalad said in a press briefing that a telecommunications team from the Office of Civil Defense would be deployed to Catanduanes with very small aperture terminal (VSAT) equipment to establish a satellite and data communications network to address communication problems in the province.
Catanduanes Gov. Joseph Cua appealed to telecommunication companies for the immediate restoration of communications in the province. Jalad said Globe and Smart were already attending to the request.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said five out of six local government units in the first district of Albay are inaccessible through all forms of communication after Super Typhoon Rolly hit the province on Sunday. Lagman reported that except for Sto. Domingo town, the municipalities of Bacacay, Malinao, Malilipot, and Tiwi, as well as Tabaco City, have no communication lines.
Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) on Monday said it started the restoration activities in areas that were hit by Typhoon Rolly.
The company said it is closely working with local government units for the repair of affected sites that are deemed safe and under favorable weather conditions.
Cathy Yap-Yang, PLDT-Smart first vice president and group head of corporate communications said Smart has fully restored services in Northern Samar. However, customers in hardest-hit areas particularly in Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, and Albay, as well as in Batangas and Marinduque, may experience service disruptions because of commercial power failures and other transport-related issues.
Catanduanes Rep. Hector Sanchez, meanwhile, said 10,000 small houses in the province were damaged by the typhoon, but said this was just a partial estimate.
Cua said that 65 percent of houses made of light materials were destroyed while 20 percent of bigger houses were also damaged.
The local government of Catanduanes asked for GI sheets and tarpaulins to repair the destroyed houses in the province.
Camarines Sur officials led by 2nd district Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte and Gov. Migz Villafuerte appealed for immediate relief and assistance from President Duterte for at least 80,000 families in the province’s 35 municipalities and one city (Iriga) hit the hardest by super typhoon Rolly.
“We need aid right away from the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) and the NHA (National Housing Authority) for CamSur folk who are now reeling from the triple whammy of super typhoons Rolly and Quinta and the lingering coronavirus pandemic,” Villafuerte said. With Darwin G Amojelar and PNA