‘Sendong’ death toll now 533

By Ben O. Tesiorna
Sunday, December 18, 2011
DAVAO CITY (Updated 9 a.m.) — The death toll from flash floods triggered by Tropical Storm Sendong (international name: Washi) is now 533 as authorities continue to recover bodies in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities, two of the hardest hit in Mindanao.
The National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 533 people were confirmed dead as of 8 a.m. Monday.
NDRRMC’s Edgardo Ollet said the number would likelt go up as 432 people are still missing.
Philippine Red Cross (PRC) secretary general Gwendolyn Pang said the hardest-hit cities were Cagayan de Oro City, where at least 239 people died, and nearby Iligan, where Red Cross aid workers reported 195 dead, mostly children and women.
Many of the bodies were unclaimed after nearly 24 hours, suggesting that entire families had died, she said.
One prominent resident identified as Edward Agawin was found dead in Camiguin. Agawin reportedly visited the family’s fishpond property in Lingating when the flood washed him away along with his car.
PRC data showed that a total of 75 villages in 20 municipalities were affected by the storm, including 18 in Compostela Valley; 17 each in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga del Norte; 15 in Iligan; and eight in Dumaguete
Overall, the storm has so far affected 5,844 families or 20,433 individuals. Many are currently housed in the 23 evacuation centers set-up in affected areas, said the PRC.
Tropical Storm Sendong started to blow away toward the South China Sea on Sunday, allowing the weather to clear and disaster-response contingents to intensify search-and-rescue work.
Sendong is now out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
There are 140 villages in 17 municipalities, eight cities, 11 provinces and six regions affected all over Mindanao and the Visayas.
Northern Mindanao suffered the most casualties with 292 retrieved bodies and still rising.
In Central Visayas, Negros Oriental and Dumaguete have 27 dead as of Sunday morning.
Zamboanga del Norte has three confirmed fatalities, and Davao Region has five. Latest addition to the fatalities came from Caraga Region with one death and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with four reported deaths due to drowning.
Three hundred thirty-six bodies were recovered in the areas of responsibility of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro.
Iligan City, on the other hand, has so far recovered 212 bodies with 447 still missing.
Colonel Leopoldo Galon, spokesman of the AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said 355 people remained missing as of this posting Sunday.
PRC Chairman Richard Gordon and his team are scheduled to leave for Mindanao Monday to personally assess the aftermath of the flash flood.
Gordon will visit two worst hit areas, Cagayan De Oro City and Iligan. He expressed Red Cross’ concern over the plight of the thousands of families whose lives were shattered, especially with the coming Christmas season.
President Benigno Aquino III is also expected to visit the two cities on Tuesday. Relief operations have been ongoing since Saturday.
Pang said the large number of deaths could be attributed to the fact that these areas are not used to being hit by typhoons.
“Mindanao is usually not a typhoon-prone area that is why most residents were caught unprepared. Many were shocked. This could have contributed to the extensive damage,” Pang said.
She urged concerned local government units in the area to always be prepared for disasters by ensuring that the people are knowledgeable on how to handle disaster situations.
Red Cross has also appealed from its corporate partners to help in providing the priority needs of the affected families.
Among the items urgently needed are coffins and body bags, said Benito Ramos, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency.
Ayi Hernandez, a former congressman, said he and his family were resting in their home in Cagayan de Oro late Friday when they heard a loud “swooshing sound” and water quickly rose ankle-deep inside. He decided to evacuate to a neighbor’s two-storey house.
“It was a good thing, because in less than an hour, the water rose to about 11 feet (3.3 meters),” filling his home up to the ceiling, he said.
Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were filled with scenes of destruction and desperation.
A swollen river sent floodwaters gushing through neighborhoods that do not usually experience flooding. A man floated in an inner tube in muddy water littered with plastic buckets, pieces of wood and other debris. Ten people in one home stood on a sloping roof, waiting for rescuers even as water still flooded the lower floors.
Local television footage showed muddy water rushing in the streets, sweeping away all sorts of debris. Thick layers of mud coated streets where the waters had subsided. One car was thrown over a concrete fence and others were crushed and piled in a flooded canal.
Authorities recovered bodies from the mud after the water subsided. Parts of concrete walls and roofs, toppled vehicles and other debris littered the streets.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement that the Obama administration offered its “deepest condolences” for the devastation in the southern Philippines.
“The US government stands ready to assist Philippine authorities as they respond to this tragedy,” the statement said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected.”
Meanwhile, Ladele Sagrado, PR and Information Division head of the Cagayan de Oro Water District, said some 70 to 80 percent of the city’s water sources have been affected.
Cagayan de Oro will have to resort to drinking muddy water unless the government brings in fresh supplies, one of its lawmakers said Sunday afternoon as flooding continued to subside.
“Our problem here now is water,” Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez said over dzBB Sunday, adding his house in the city does not have access to water either.
He said the local water district can only supply water at 10 percent capacity, or 31 days’ worth of supply.
Shelves at malls and stores in the cities are already empty, he said, forcing him to buy water from as far away as Cebu.
“Unless there is an airlift and sealift of water, our children will be forced to drink muddy water,” the congressman said, warning of an epidemic if the water shortage is not remedied soon.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte has announced a military cargo flight will be dispatched to Cagayan de Oro on Sunday afternoon with 1,500 500-milliliter bottles of water, as well as portable and potable water systems.
Rodriguez said the Bureau of Fire Protection has also dispatched 13 fire trucks to bring in water from nearby towns that still have access to drinking water.
He said the 22 barangays affected by flooding are already cleaning up houses “filled with mud.”
Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said more fire trucks will be deployed from Bukidnon to bring in water for Cagayan de Oro’s population of around 700,000.
As these developed, several countries have pledged help to the Philippines’ disaster relief operation.
The Chinese embassy offered P440,000 “to contribute to the disaster relief efforts of the Philippine government.” The funds will be coursed through the Red Cross.
In separate interviews with Church-run Radio Veritas, officials from the Roman Catholic dioceses of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Tandag asked the public to send in whatever aid they can afford.

Mendez said victims need bottled water, medicines, food supplies, like canned goods, and kitchen tools.

Caritas Manila executive director Fr. Anton Pascual said they have just formed “Caritas Damay Mindanao”, which is a fund-raising program to help those in evacuation centers in affected areas in Mindanao.

He said the Catholic Church is calling on the faithful to help, especially with only days away from Christmas.

Interested parties may deposit their financial aid at Account Name: Caritas Manila Inc. with account numbers BPI (3063-5357-01), MetroBank (75-3-17506954-3), BDO (5600-49505), PNB (10-856-660001-7) or log-on to: www.caritasmanila.org.ph. (With Jonathan de Santos/CVB/AMN/Lynde Salgados and Annabelle Ricalde of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on December 19, 2011.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2011/12/18/sendong-death-toll-nears-600-196495

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