Sun.Star: Cebu bears Frank's wrath in Central Visayas

CEBU CITY, Philippines - Typhoon Frank hit Cebu the hardest in Central Visayas. Strong waves damaged about 100 houses and affected some 300 families in the coastal barangays of Talisay City. Landslides left roads in Cebu’s mid-north impassable, while power and telephone posts fell from strong winds in many parts of the province. Power blackouts hit Tabogon, Borbon, Tabuelan, Tuburan, Asturias, Medellin, Daanbantayan, Sogod, Catmon, Carmen, San Remigio and Poro, while Bogo City and Bantayan Island suffered power outages and damaged phone lines. Disaster coordinators, however, have not received any report of casualties. The Talisay City Rescue Emergency Action Team (Treat) rushed to the scene after a hut in Sitio Kalubihan, Barangay Poblacion was reportedly swept away by waves at the height of the storm Saturday morning. The Talisay City Social Welfare Office (CSWO), though, still had to get the identities of the household members. There is no report of any casualty, though. Poblacion Barangay Treasurer Luna Mae Bacalso said big waves from strong winds crushed more than 30 houses in four coastal sitios: Kalubihan, Mahayahay, Asan and YMCA. Powerful waves also left knee-deep water and widespread flooding in these areas, forcing CSWO personnel to temporarily put off their inspection and assessment report. Twelve more houses were destroyed while 50 others were damaged in Sitio Litmon, Barangay Dumlog, said Talisay City Social Welfare Chief Felipa Solana. Despite constant prodding by authorities, majority of the dwellers, however, refused to transfer to the sports complex, barangay halls and chapels in the two barangays. “As of Friday night, only 10 families opted to stay at the sports complex in Poblacion, the rest are not keen on leaving their homes," said Bacalso. The CSWO and barangay personnel gave food to the storm victims Saturday. Since Friday, much of the anxiety over typhoon Frank focused on the northern towns, which were placed under typhoon warning signal number two. But reports from the northern towns in Cebu were hard to come by, said Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Operations Officer Neil Angelo Sanchez. Radio repeaters were affected by the strong winds. The Cebu Provincial Police Office had the same problem in relaying reports. However, Sanchez said, they relied on the Federation of Visayas Radio Club to transmit reports to the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council. Some areas in Barangays Panalipan, Basak and Binongkalan in Catmon town were deemed impassable due to fallen trees, as were the roads in Barangay Lugo, Borbon and Barangay Sagay, Tabogon. Barangays Paypay, Lanao and Malingin in Daanbantayan town were flooded while a house was reportedly swept by the flood. A minor landslide occurred in Barangay Cabongahan, Danao City, damaging a house owned by Marcelo Denaem, but his family evacuated unhurt. The OCD also received a report about a damaged cell site in Medellin, but Sanchez said they were unable to confirm this. However, he said, it is possible because they were having difficulty reaching the mobile phones of social welfare officers in the nearby towns. The typhoon also blew off the roof of the Bantayan Sports Complex. A house was damaged in San Remigio town due to strong winds, but no one was hurt, while banana and fruit trees were uprooted in the town, as well as in San Francisco, Camotes Island. Cebu City In Cebu City, the typhoon hit farm crops in the mountain barangays. No major incident was reported in the urban areas. The Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCCC) reported a landslide in Binaliw, which blocked the road and created a cave-in. Water level in the rivers rose, but the CDCC received no report of any untoward incident. Binaliw officials and tanods tried to clear a portion of the landslide to make the road passable. Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said a payloader and a dumptruck were sent to the site to clear the road. The Cebu City Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) was instructed to collected landslide debris to fill up another part of the road that caved in. “Generally, our city is OK. There’s a small landslide in Binaliw, but with our monitoring, what was worst hit were the crops, corn and banana plantations were damaged by strong winds," Carillo said. He said that after the typhoon made landfall in Samar last Friday night, they expected the weather to improve. On Saturday, though, personnel were sent to the coastal barangays of Suba, Pasil and Sawang Calero to monitor the sea walls battered by huge waves. Carillo said the Cebu City Government will start draining the rainwater that flooded private properties in Sitio Manggahan, Barangay Mambaling. “Water level has been high. We’ll drain it again," the councilor said. Talisay City Meanwhile, a Sambag tree fell on three houses and damaged a portion of the Barangay Hall in Lawaan 3, Talisay City. The tree crushed one of the houses and hit part of the hall where Lawaan 3 Elementary School pupils held their classes. Barangay residents helped cut the tree in pieces to clear the area. No one was reported injured. Also, two families in Sitio Tangub, Barangay Lagtang fled to safer grounds following a landslide that covered a portion of the Lagtang-Toledo road. Solana said the affected families voluntarily transferred to the houses of their relatives in Campo 4, a hilly village in Talisay City. Using a payloader and backhoe, Talisay City Hall personnel removed the huge boulders and mud that blocked the road, said Lagtang Barangay Captain Celiapo Cabuenas. The landslide that cascaded from a hillside private quarry of the Aznars occurred past 3 p.m. last Friday, making the road impassable to motorists. It happened hours after a portion of the riprap wall of the Manipis Elementary School caved in past 7 a.m., spilling sand and gravel on the hallway that separates two school buildings. No one was hurt in these two incidents. Mandaue City No major damage was reported in Mandaue city, except flooding near a quarry site in Barangay Tawason and in low areas in Barangay Cabancalan. A family also sought shelter in Barangay Labogon Elementary School, said Barangay Captain Damaso Tumulak as wind broke portions of their house. Mandaue City’s Disaster Coordinating Council convened last Friday and will meet again if the need arises, City Administrator Briccio Boholst said. In Barangay Tawason, the site of massive quarrying, Barangay Captain Jun Arcilla noted knee-high flooding in Sitio Huyong-Huyong, near the elementary school and in H. K. Plastic. But the roads remained passable. Cabancalan Barangay Captain Corregidor Cosedo used pumps to drain waist-high floodwaters in Pilit road. The place is near the river. - Sun.Star Cebu