VICTIMS NEED WATER, FOOD, MEDS, SHOVELS
[PHOTO
- Rescuers and residents search for survivors following a landslide triggered by
Monday's magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental. AP Photo/Choy Gallarde]
DUMAGUETE CITY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012 (PHILSTAR) (The Freeman) – Relief and
rehabilitation efforts, in tandem with rescue and retrieval operations, have
started with delivery of relief goods, equipment and rescue personnel from this
city to earthquake-hit areas in Negros Oriental, especially Guihulngan City.
The Philippine Coast Guard has deployed two search-and-rescue vessels (SARV)
to the province to help in the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts. The
vessels—the 35-meter BRP Davao Del Norte and the 56-meter BRP Pampanga
003—docked at the Dumaguete port the other day, said Lt. Comm. Agapito Bibat of
the local PCG Station.
Both ships have been alternating their trips to give time for refueling and
loading of relief goods, rescue workers and other volunteers. They also ferry
earthquake victims and patients needing further medical attention in Dumaguete.
On Wednesday, the BRP Davao del Norte left for Guihulngan City, transporting
relief goods such as water and food, and rescue volunteers from the Negros
Oriental Search and Rescue and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
Bibat said the ship returned by evening carrying 87-year-old Florencia
Bustamante, one of four patients earlier arranged for transfer to Dumaguete.
Yesterday, the BRP Pampanga 003 departed at about noon time ferrying relief
goods, including 100 pieces of plywood donated by Earnest Uymatiao of the Solid
Ace Construction and Development via the National Union of Journalists of the
Philippines-Dumaguete chapter.
Relief goods, medical supplies, tents, and other basic commodities—kept in
40-foot container vans—from the Philippine National Red Cross' headquarters in
Cagayan de Oro City arrived Dumaguete yesterday morning and these were loaded
into the BRP Pampanga for transporting to Guihulngan.
PNRC-Negros Oriental head Lowella Bael told The FREEMAN it was difficult to
ferry the goods to Guihulngan, prompting the agency to ask the PCG to bring it
there. Guihulngan City will be the base of PNRC for distribution of relief
goods, she said.
The PNRC goods consisted of 30 tents, a Rub Hall for Guihulngan District
Hospital, 500 jerry cans, 1,000 mats, 500 food packs (each with 5 kilos rice and
five cans of sardines), 360 collapsible container with 21 liters drinking water,
1,000 pieces of 1-liter bottled water, 10 containers of gasoline and 10
containers of diesel. — Judy Flores Partlow and John DX
Lapid (THE FREEMAN)
Quake victims in Negros Oriental need water, food, medicines
Updated February 09, 2012 10:16 AM
PHILIPPINE DAILY STAR
[PHOTO - GRIM DELIVERY Funeral parlor workers transport a coffin by
motorcycle on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, to the landslide site in La Libertad,
Negros Oriental, one of the areas hardest hit by the recent 6.9-magnitude
earthquake. (AFP Photo)]
MANILA, Philippines - Aside from the 71 people who have yet to be dug out of
landslide-hit areas in Guihulngan and La Libertad towns in Negros Oriental,
officials are also concerned of the possible impact on the residents' health due
to the scarcity of food supply and potable drinking water.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported
that quake-hit areas, particularly in the two towns, are experiencing scarcity
in the supply of potable drinking water.
In Guihulngan, the agency said its water system was totally damaged by the
magnitude-6.9 earthquake that struck Negros Oriental and other provinces in
Visayas before noon Monday.
Aside from drinking water, people in quake-hit areas need more medicines,
tents for temporary shelter, food and fuel.
It added that more picks and shovels are needed for the search for the
missing people and additional food and field oxygen tanks for the rescue
volunteers.
As of today, the NDRRMC's official death count was 26. A total of 71 more
people from Barangay Planas in Guihulngan and Barangay Solonggon in La Libertad
remain missing due to landslides.
Yesterday, officials stopped the search and rescue efforts in the
landslide-hit areas due to safety concerns.
The NDRRMC said a total of 74,017 people were affected by the strong
earthquake in eight municipalities and a city in Negros Oriental. A total of
26,862 people remain displaced.
Several residents have chosen to remain out of their homes due to continuous
aftershocks. Establishments in the quake-hit areas also remained close pending
the official's inspection of the buildings for cracks.
The agency, meanwhile, reported that a total of 10 bridges in the province
remain impassable and three road sections are inaccessible due to cracks, cuts,
road slips and landslides.
A total of 976 houses were totally damaged by the quake and 943 were damaged
partially.
The agency said that electricity was still out in several areas in Negros
Oriental. It said that local officials have struck out a deal with local
electric cooperatives to speed up their restoration efforts and bring back power
in a weeks time starting yesterday.
FROM MANILA BULLETIN
2 Quake Survivors Found By ELENA L. ABEN February
10, 2012, 6:27pm
[PHOTO - GUIHULNGAN CITY—Soldiers digging through mounds of loose earth
and boulders in a landslide-hit village here found the remains of a victim
Thursday day amid fears that chances of finding survivors had become slim.]
MANILA, Philippines — Two survivors of the powerful earthquake that jolted
Negros Oriental last Monday were recovered from the wreckage of their house,
government officials reported Friday.
Five more bodies were recovered Friday as rescue work resumed in spite of
continuing aftershocks.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive
Director Benito Ramos reported Friday that the two survivors were found in
Barangay Kagawas, a mountainside barangay in Guihulngan City.
Ramos said the two, who both suffered injuries, were pinned under their
collapsed house.
They were discovered by their neighbors who brought them down the mountain.
Ramos said the survivors were airlifted to a hospital in Dumaguete City.
The five bodies were found in the landslide-hit barangays of La Libertad and
Guihulngan.
Ramos described one of the retrieved in Barangay Planas, Guihulngan,
as that of a "headless woman".
The death toll in Monday's magnitude 6.9 quake stood at 39 Friday, with 66
people missing.
Ramos said the chance is slim more survivors will be found especially from
the landslides in La Liberta and Guihulngan, but they are not giving up hope.
He listed underwear and sanitary napkins as among immediate needs of the
quake victims, aside from food, drinking water, medicines, and mosquito nets.
NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos said the recovery of five more bodies-
two in Barangay Solonggon in La Libertad town and three in Barangay Planas,
Guihulngan City.
The NDRRMC placed the number of stricken families from 106 barangays in
Guihulngan City, Bais City, and the towns of La Libertad, Jimalalud, Ayungon,
Bindoy (Payabon), Manuyod Tayasan, and Villahermoso at 21,076, or 93,397 people.
A total of 6,572 families or 32,869 people are staying at 21 evacuation
centers.
The quake also destroyed 1,411 houses and damaged 1,566.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it has
recorded 1,422 aftershocks as of Friday.
Dr. Renato Solidum, Phivolcs director, 85 of the aftershocks were strong
enough to be felt.
Helping in the search for survivors and bodies are a 49-member team deployed
jointly by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Philippine Mine Safety and
Environment Association (PMSEA), Carmen Copper Corporation, Apex Mining
Corporation, Philex Mining Corporation, Philippine Saga Mining Corporation, and
Quarry Ventures Philippines Incorporated.
The PMSEA is an organization of mining companies, quarries, cement plants,
suppliers, service contractors, professional organizations and government
agencies that advocates a national campaign against occupational safety, health
and environmental hazards of mining and its related operations.
Damage to roads and bridges in Negro Oriental has been extensive. But the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Friday that the damaged
roads and bridges will be passable by the middle of next week.
DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said President Benigno S. Aquino III
instructed them to immediately repair the road networks and public markets to
restore commerce in Guihulngan and the towns of Jimalalud, Tayasa, and La
Libertad.
Singson said in the meantime, Bailey bridges will be built and alternate
routes will be set up. (Francis T. Wakefield, Phoebe Jen
Indino, Jun Ramirez, Kris Bayos, and JC Bello Ruiz)
FROM THE INQUIRER CEBU DAILY
NEWS
Phivolcs: We didn't explain tsunami alert By Ador
Vincent Mayol, Fe Marie D. Dumaboc, Norman V. Mendoza 2:43 pm | Thursday,
February 9th, 2012
A day after issuing a tsunami alert 2 that some people mistook as
basis for sparking a tsunami scare, the local Philippine Institute of Seismology
and Volcanology (Phivolcs) apologized to the public for their announcement.
"We want to apologize to the public for any panic that the tsunami warning
caused. If only we were given a chance to explain why we announced the warning,"
Philvocs Lapu-Lapu City officer in charge Robinson Jorgio said.
Jorgio said they didn't anticipate that the advisory would cause panic,
because the announcement is just intended for the local government unit.
He said the local officials would then advise the public to monitor the
condition of the seawaters, right after the quake.
Jorgio said it's possible that a tsunami can occur two to five minutes to
within an hour after an earthquake.
"But let's clarify that we didn't say that the residents in the coastal areas
should be evacuated. We said they should monitor the seawater. But it's possible
for a tsunami to occur due to a strong earthquake," Jorgio said.
He explained that their announcement was part of their Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP).
"If we did not do it, and a tsunami occurred, we would also be blamed,"
Jorgio said.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said they identified the two
motorcycle-riding men responsible for spreading rumors of a tsunami that was
supposed to hit Cebu City last Monday afternoon.
Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, Cebu City police chief, said they will
interrogate the two men and file charges of public alarm and scandal against
them.
Jorgio said aftershocks will still be experienced, because the faultline
system has not yet stabilized.
He said their office already recorded 735 aftershocks at 8 a.m. yesterday and
more are still expected.
Cebu City Hall employees vacated their offices at the eight-story executive
building following another tremor yesterday morning.
The employees gathered at the Plaza Sugbu and at the city hall parking area
to wait for word before returning to work.
In Lapu-Lapu City, Mayor Paz Radaza ordered the City Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Council (CDRRMC) to hold trainings and awareness seminars down on
earthquake drills and safety measures down to the barangay level.
Radaza also said more communication equipment is needed since mobile phones
encountered signal problems and could hardly be relied on during emergencies.
For his part, Msgr. Achilles Dakay, media liaison officer of the Cebu
Archdiocese, called on the Cebuano faithful to always be prepared and pray to
the Sto. Niño for safety.
He said they should be grateful to the Sto. Niño for sparing Cebu from
disaster.
Dakay said the quake should teach people not to fear but to prepare oneself
for eternal life.
"One should practice detachment or what we called poverty in spirit. If we
love God and neighbor, we should not be afraid of anything," Dakay told Cebu
Daily News. With reports from Chief of Reporters Doris C.
Bongcac and Correspondent Gabriel C. Bonjoc
Ordinance on disaster teams meet resistance
AN ordinance requiring owners of businesses to have their own disaster
response team as a pre-requisite for approval of their business application was
tabled for further discussion.
Councilor Noel Wenceslao said last Monday's earthquake showed that the city
was "unprepared" to deal with such emergencies.
But Councilor Jose Daluz III said it runs counter to the city's
business-friendly policies.
Daluz also asked on the legal basis in compelling employers to enroll members
of their disaster team for accident insurance.
"I'm afraid that employers will complain because this is an added burden to
them," he said.
Wenceslao presented to the council his ordinance that proposes the creation
of disaster response teams among the city's 24,000 registered businesses, for
final deliberation in yesterday morning's session.
The ordinance requires employers with less than 50 employees to appoint a
liaison officer who will act as point person for their disaster management.
Businesses with more than 50 employees are required to create a disaster
management team.
Team members are to undergo training with an accredited group like ERUF, the
Bureau of Fire Protection and the Cebu City Risk Reduction Management Council.
Their certificate of training is to be attached as a requirement for the
application or renewal of business or the mayor's permit.
Failure to comply with the ordinance within a period of one year from its
implementation would be fined P2,500.
The building owners are given another year to comply with the requirement for
the creation of a disaster team.
Another P3,500 fine is imposed for another year of violation while a P5,000
fine is imposed on the fourth year of violation together with a recommendation
for the non-issuance of renewal of the applicant's business or mayor's permit.
"This (the creation of a disaster response team) is not a guarantee for 100
percent preparedness but this could already be start of the city's proactive
steps to dealing with emergencies," said Wenceslao in yesterday's session.
But Councilor Alvin Dizon also questioned the capability of the city risk
reduction management council as implementor of Wenceslao's draft ordinance.
"Monday's earthquake was proof of the gap between the city's disaster
management and the capacity of our authorities to respond to emergencies," said
Dizon.
Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. added that the responsibility of implementing the
disaster management ordinance is "too huge" and the city disaster office does
not have the personnel to implement this.
In Congress, Rep. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing of Cebu's 6th district called on
the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to update the
geohazard maps to inform them of critical and disaster-prone sites in their
area. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac and Correspondent
Norman V. Mendoza
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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