278 DEAD IN NEGROS, ILIGAN, ZAMBO
MANILA, DECEMBER
18,
2011 (INQUIRER) By Teodoro Aljibe Agence France-Presse
6:56 pm - [PHOTO - NATURE'S WRATH: Debris are
scattered near destroyed houses in Cagayan de Oroon December18, 2011, a day
after Typhoon Washi wrought havoc in the city. Philippine rescuers strived with
mud, fatigue and the stench of death Sunday, December 18, 2011, to help dazed
survivors of devastating flash floods that have killed over 532 people. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE]
CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines—Philippine rescuers struggled against mud,
fatigue and the stench of death Sunday to help dazed survivors of devastating
flash floods that have killed more than 500 people.
Entire villages were washed away when tropical storm Sendong (international
name: Washi) whipped the south as people slept in the early hours of Saturday,
leaving a trail of flattened homes, broken bridges and upended vehicles in the
poverty-stricken country.
The government and the Philippine National Red Cross appealed for help to
feed, clothe and house more than 35,000 people huddled in evacuation centers as
soldiers battled to recover bodies from the cloying mud.
A 20,000-strong military force has been mobilized in a huge rescue and relief
operation across the stricken north coast of the island of Mindanao, where the
major ports of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were worst hit.
Local freelance reporter Leonardo Vicente Corrales told AFP that rotting
corpses were piling up unclaimed at mortuaries in Cagayan de Oro as overworked
staff ran out of embalming fluid, coffins, and water to clean them.
[PHOTO - Two women hold their children who were killed in the onslaught
of Tropical Storm "Sendong" (international codename: Washi) at a village in
Iligan City, on the southern island of Mindanao on Dec. 17, 2011. AFP]
"The bodies are decomposing too quickly because they are drowning victims –
because there is muddy water in their bodies," he said.
The Red Cross said 532 people had been confirmed dead in the south. The
number of missing had risen to 458, it said, while cautioning that some of them
might be among the bodies retrieved but not yet identified.
The mayor of Cagayan de Oro, Vicente Emano, said he expected the death toll
to reach 500 just in his city, which has a population of half a million.
One establishment, Somo Funeral Homes, refused to accept the bodies of two
drowned children because it already had too many corpses to handle.
"We can't accept the drowned children. We are already swamped. We only have
four embalmers," said Ryan Somo, whose family owns the establishment.
Given a dire lack of drinking water, the city government in Cagayan de Oro
opened up fire hydrants and long lines soon formed as residents queued for fresh
water.
Authorities likened tropical storm Sendong to Ondoy (international name:
Ketsana), one of the country's most devastating storms which dumped huge amounts
of rain on Manila and other parts of the country in 2009, killing more than 460
people.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent condolences to the Philippines and
said in a statement: "The US government stands ready to assist Philippine
authorities as they respond to this tragedy."
Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine National Red Cross,
warned that many more bodies could still be found as rescuers struggle to reach
devastated areas.
"We are only counting the actual dead bodies that were sent to funeral
parlors," she told AFP.
"The affected area is so wide and huge and I believe they have not really
gone to all areas to do a search."
Philippine President Benigno Aquino has ordered a review of the country's
disaster defenses amid a flurry of accounts that residents were unprepared for
such a deadly storm.
He is also planning a visit to the affected areas this week, a presidential
spokeswoman said.
Benito Ramos, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council, said the government faced a formidable task in
rehabilitation and reconstruction.
The national government has begun airlifting mats, blankets and clothes to
the affected populations of the south, who are being fed by local governments,
he added.
Apart from those at evacuation centers – schools, government buildings and
local gymnasiums – he said the disaster affected more than 100,000 people in one
way or another who would need immediate help in rebuilding their lives.
Debris has to be cleared, electricity and drinking water have to be restored
and damaged roads and bridges must be repaired, officials said.
Two army divisions – about 20,000 soldiers – based in Mindanao are leading
the rescue-and-relief work. The island is the scene of a long-running insurgency
led by Muslim separatists in the mainly Roman Catholic nation.
Pang at the Red Cross said rescuers were heartened by the survivors' mental
toughness.
"They are trying to rebuild. They are so resilient. Instead of all
evacuating, they have gone back to their homes," she said.
Originally posted at 05:30 pm | Sunday, December 18,
2011
278 dead, 200 missing as storm batters Mindanao,
Negros Inquirer Mindanao 2:04 pm | Saturday, December 17th, 2011
[PHOTO - SENDONG'S TRAIL. An unidentified body lies by the roadside in
Barangay (village) Tambo, Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City. At least 20 others
were recovered by rescuers as of 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 in the
village alone. JB R. Deveza/INQUIRER
Mindanao]
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—At least 278 people — many of them children
and women — have been confirmed killed by floods and landslides spawned by
Tropical Storm Sendong (international codename: Washi) and authorities feared
the number could climb some more as search efforts continued late Saturday
afternoon, officials said.
As of Saturday evening, rescuers had recovered 256 bodies in Cagayan de Oro,
Iligan City, the Zamboanga del Norte municipalities of Dapitan and Polanco, and
Monkayo in Compostela Valley.
At least 22 deaths were reported in Negros Oriental.
More than 200 others remained missing in the affected areas, according to
data provided by officials.
In Iligan City alone, 153 bodies had been taken to the city's three funeral
homes by late Saturday afternoon. Only 82 of them had been identified.
Many of the dead bodies were retrieved from as far as the beaches of
Kauswagan in Lanao del Norte, Manticao in Misamis Oriental and Iligan Bay.
There were more than 10 survivors, who were plucked out of sea by rescuers,
according to Alan Padilla, team leader of the rescue unit of Iligan City
Disaster Risk Riduction Council.
In Cagayan de Oro, where the floodwaters rose to more than a meter in the wee
hours of Saturday, 95 people were confirmed dead, said Col. Leopoldo Galon,
spokesperson of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command based in Davao City.
SENDONG'S TRAIL. An unidentified body lies by the roadside in Barangay
(village) Tambo, Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City. At least 20 others were
recovered by rescuers as of 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 in the village
alone. JB R. Deveza/INQUIRER Mindanao He said soldiers from the 4th Infantry
Division were helping in the retrieval of the dead.
Twenty of the drowning victims, many of them children, were recovered in
Barangay Tambo alone, one of the villages dotting the banks of the swollen
Cagayan de Oro River.
The Inquirer was there when some of the bodies were being retrieved Saturday.
In all, 23 barangays in Cagayan de Oro were flooded.
Senior Inspector Elmer Decena of the Northern Mindanao Regional Public Safety
Battalion said they had to use rubber boats in rescuing residents starting at 2
a.m., when the floods were at their severest.
Decena said among the dead they managed to immediately retrieve was the
family of a Caucasian surnamed Frierson.
In Iligan City, 81 dead bodies were retrieved in the beaches of Kauswagan in
Lanao del Norte, Manticao in Misamis Oriental and Iligan Bay. There were more
than 10 survivors, who were plucked out of the sea by rescuers, according to
Alan Padilla, team leader of the rescue unit of the Iligan City Disaster Risk
Reduction Council.
In Monkayo, Compostela Valley, five people were confirmed killed in a series
of landslides that hit the gold-rich area of Mt. Diwata, according to Joan
Pintal, municipal information officer.
The dead included a 57-year-old woman and three children aged 4 to 14 and a
28-year old miner, she said.
Rosita dela Peña and her wards identified as Ashlia Tuan, 14; her siblings
Nasser, 6, and Rakema, 4, and miner Julito Lumactod were killed in the landslide
that hit the Nang district past 4 p.m. Friday, Pintal told the Inquirer by
phone.
Six other landslides hit other parts of the gold-rich village between 4 and 5
p.m., burying several houses and affecting some 90 families, according to
Pintal.
In the lowland village of Baylo, 15 houses were destroyed and seven people
were injured as the Baylo River overflowed, swamping the community, she said.
The local government of Monkayo immediately dispatched assistance to the
victims while local rescuers and the Army's 25th Infantry Battalion helped in
the rescue operations.
Emil Raña, Cagayan de Oro government operations officer, said 22 villages had
come under water starting late Friday night until 2 a.m. Saturday when Sendong
unleashed huge volumes of rain. The floods were worsened by the high tide, he
said.
Raña said 50 other people remained missing but Galon said, based on their
latest data, 135 others were missing in Cagayan de Oro alone.
Armin Cuenca, head of the Oro Alert, said people were warned about the risk
of flashfloods, especially in areas near rivers, but many refused to leave their
homes.
Among those who failed to leave their home as the floodwaters swept the city
was the Cabillo family.
Bryan Cabillo of Tambo said his wife and three children were carried away by
the rushing floodwaters that swept their home late Friday. He said he tried to
save them but his efforts were in vain as he, too, had to struggle with the
strong currents.
Galon said the military was helping in the search-and-rescue efforts and had
flown choppers to locate missing or trapped victims.
Cagayan de Oro was at the center of the typhoon, which could explain why it
suffered the most, officials said.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration 180 millimeters of rain fell into the city Friday until
dawn Saturday.
By noon Saturday the rains had stopped in many places in Mindanao although
drizzles were still being reported in the northern and eastern parts of the
island late Saturday.
As of 8 a.m. Saturday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 5,040 passengers, 82 trucks, six cars, 143
buses, six motorized bancas, and 87 vessels were stranded in eastern, western
and central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, Western Mindanao and
the Caraga region.
The Claveria-Calanasan road in Misamis Oriental was closed to traffic due to
landslides, the NDRRMC reported.
The NDRRMC said the worst-hit barangays in Cagayan de Oro were Consolacion,
Macasandig, Tablon, Lapasan, Agusan, Cugman, Ipunan, Pagatpat, Kauswagan,
Macanhan, Carmen, and Balulang.
Floods also submerged a village in nearby El Salvador City in Misamis
Oriental, Clarin in Misamis Occidental, the Ozamis City barangays of Catadman,
Bacolod, Maningcol, Aguada Annex, Gango, and Lam-an; Barangay Lapasan, Clarin,
Misamis Occidental and Valencia City in Bukidnon but no casualties were
immediately reported.
In nearby Iligan City, among those killed was broadcaster Enie Alzonado of
Radyo Mo Nationwide, according to Mayor Lawrence Cruz.
Cruz said the Iligan death toll could still increase as more than 200 people
were missing as of late Saturday afternoon.
The floods were worse than anything in the past, Cruz said, noting that place
that were never flooded before went under water during Sendon's passage. in many
areas the water was more than a meter deep, he said.
"In the flood-prone districts, houses were either under water or washed away.
Many families had to be rescued from the roofs of their houses," Cruz said.
By noon the waters had subsided this could speed up the search-and-rescue
efforts, he said.
At least 24 villages of Iligan were flooded, according to an NDRRMC report.
Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command
based in Zamboanga City, said soldiers were deployed to help in the
search-and-rescue operations in various places in Mindanao.
Cabangbang said early Saturday that in Iligan City alone, many residents were
still on the roofs of their houses when soldiers arrived for a rescue mission.
The total number of people displaced by the floods was still being
ascertained.
But in Cagayan de Oro, which still had no electricity and no potable water as
of Saturday afternoon, some 20,000 people were being assisted in at least 10
evacuation centers, according to Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman.
In Iligan City, Cruz said, "thousands had been displaced" but the actual
number was still being determined.
The Iligan Bloggers Society had started a fund drive for the flood victims.
The group said it preferred canned goods and packed foods and clothing but
donors could also send cash.
Details of the fund drive may be found on the group's blog page
http://t.co/9JEEYwGT.
In Zamboanga del Norte, Gov. Rolando Yebes said three persons died in the
floods that swamped some villages in Dapitan and Polanco on Thursday as
Sendong's fury began to be felt.
"Iyong tubig umabot lampas tao," he said by phone.
Yebes said the floods were also worsened by the high high tide.
"Disaster personnel continue to monitor and assess the situation to determine
actual number of families affected," he said.
The NDRRMC said the number of affected persons in Zamboanga del Norte was
1,307.
In Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte, the NDRRMC said floods also occurred
in barangays Turno and Dicayas on Thursday morning, displacing about 300
persons.
In Monkayo, Compostela Valley, 134 families fled their homes when flashfloods
and landslides hit six villages, the military said.
Maj. Rosa Manuel, civil military officer of the Eastern Mindanao command
based in Davao City, said the extent of damage from the floods and landslides
was not immediately known.
Flashfloods were also reported in Compostela and Nabunturan towns.
In the Caraga region, 1,560 persons were affected by floods that swept a
number of villages in Lingig, Surigao del Sur and Bislig City.
Sea vessels servicing the region were also advised against sailing, according
to the NDRMMC report.
The NDRRMC also reported flooding in Sigma, Capiz, affecting the barangays of
Agbo, Amaga, Cogon, Dayhagon, Poblacion Norte, Poblacion Sur, Guintas,
Pagbunitan, Bangon-bangon, Mangoso, Capuyhan, Tawog, and Matangcong.
Floods also swept through the villages of Cabanghan and Cabugao in Panitan
town, also in Capiz.
Reports from Allan Nawal, JB Deveza, Bobby Lagsa, Richel
Umel, Ryan Rosauro, Julie Alipala, Frinston Lim and Dennis Jay Santos, Inquirer
Mindanao
Originally posted: 11:24 am | Saturday, December 17th,
2011
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
