Over 2,400 houses in Batanes damaged due to Julian —gov

Over 2,400 houses in Batanes were damaged during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Julian, according to Governor Marilou Cayco on Tuesday.

In an interview on Dobol B TV, Cayco said that around 60% of the 2,463 affected homes are totally damaged while 40% are partially damaged.

Cayco attributed the high number of damaged homes to the prohibition of aggregates for home use after Batanes was declared as a protected area. New houses in the province are made of light materials.

“Noong kami po ay naging protected area sa buong Batanes, hindi na kami nakakakuha ng aggregate for home use. So ang ginagamit na nila mga kahoy o tubo na pangposte tapos yero-yero na lang,” she said.

(When Batanes became a protected area, we were no longer able to get aggregate for home use. So they use wood or pipes for posts and metal sheets.)

“‘Yan ang magiging panawagan ko na baka pupuwedeng i-moratorium muna ‘yung batas na ‘yun para ang mga tao dito sa Batanes ay makagawa po ng matibay na tirahan dahil kami naman po talaga ay typhoon path,” she added.

(I call for a moratorium on that law for the meantime so that the people here in Batanes can build a stable house because we are really on a typhoon path.)

Batanes General Hospital also sustained damage due to the effects of Julian. Power outages and water supply problems were reported in the province.

Some residents had minor injuries but no fatality was reported, according to Cayco.

“Hundred percent po affected ang mga tao dito sa Batanes. At meron kaming 172 families na na-evacuate, nasa evacuation centers, 2,543 individuals ‘to,” Cayco said.

(Hundred percent of the people here in Batanes are affected. And we have 172 families that have been evacuated in evacuation centers. These are 2,543 individuals.)

“So first time po naming ito na ganito kadami ang evacuees namin (So this is our first time that we have this high number of evacuees),” she added.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said food packs have been prepositioned in affected areas and will be delivered once the weather improves.

DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao, in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview, said 5,000 food packs have been prepositioned each for the Batanes provincial government and Itbayat.

Also, 1,500 food packs are also ready to be distributed in Sabtang and 1,000 each in Ivana and Uyugan.

A total of 77,249 people or 22,645 families were affected by Julian in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said in its report on Tuesday.

Of the affected population, 762 persons or 254 families were staying in evacuation centers while 1,031 individuals or 327 families were taking shelter in other places.

Classes in 253 areas and work schedules in 108 areas were suspended due to Julina.

Assistance worth P987,732 has been provided to the Julian victims so far, according to the NDRRMC.

Julian as of 4 a.m. was located 205 kilometers west of Itbayat, Batanes packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph.

The super typhoon was moving west northwestward slowly. —KBK/VBL, GMA Integrated News