Siargao Airport terminal 'totally damaged' due to Odette — lawmaker

Surigao del Norte First District Representative Francisco Jose Matugas II said Friday that the Siargao Airport terminal was "totally damaged" due to the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

Matugas said the impact of the weather disturbance on the popular tourist destination was devastating, citing information from the airport's officer-in-charge, Richard Alas.

"It is regrettable however that the Siargao Airport terminal was totally damaged. Per Mr. Alas' initial assessment, the damage of Odette in Siargao is devastating. There are no updates yet as to casualty," Matugas said in a Facebook post.

He said that the runway had been cleared of debris.

"Thus, planes and choppers carrying relief goods can land," Matugas said.

Two private planes from Legaspi City would transport a team of doctors, medicine, and first-aid kits to Siargao to help with emergency and rescue operations, according to the lawmaker.

State weather bureau PAGASA said Odette would make another landfall over the northern or central portion of Palawan on Friday afternoon, and re-emerge over the West Philippine Sea this evening, and cross Kalayaan Islands on Saturday.

Odette is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Saturday morning or early afternoon, it added.

At least one person was reported dead while two others were injured, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said. —VBL, GMA News