Typhoon Odette leaves 50 dead in Bohol —provincial gov't

TAGBILARAN CITY-  Typhoon Odette left 50  people dead in Bohol, the provincial government reported Saturday night.

Eight of the fatalities were from Ubay, the hardest hit town.

The other fatalities were from these towns:

• President Carlos P. Garcia: 5
• Inabanga: 4
• Catigbian: 4
• Valencia: 3
• Tubigon: 3
• Alicia: 3
• Batuan: 2
• Antequera: 2; and 
• Maribojoc: 2
• Calape: 2
• Jagna: 2
• Lila: 1
• Pilar: 1
• Candijay: 1

In Alicia town, one of the fatalities was identified as Joaquin Butil Felecio, 60, a resident of Purok 7 of Barangay Cabatang.

According to his wife, Beatrice Felicio, Joaquin and his neighbor Edgar Balwang took refuge in a small chapel in the village when it was impossible for them to proceed to the evacuation center. A falling hollow block and steel bar hit them. Balwang was injured, but Joaquin died.

Tagbilaran and Dauis registered no casualties.

The provincial government said the 50 deaths came from 21 local government units out of 48 LGUs which submitted their reports.

The report said deaths were verified by police stations and LGUs.

'Massive destruction'

In a SuperRadyo dzBB  interview on Sunday, Anthony Damalerio of the Bohol Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said there were 32,390 families of 59,860 individuals who were in evacuation centers as of 6 p.m. on Saturday. This number is still expected to increase.

“This is the first time in Bohol’s history to experience a severe typhoon at Signal No. 4 so massive destruction talaga ang nangyari (really happened) sa Bohol,” he added.

The provincial government is appealing for basic necessities such as food and ready-to-eat food. Bohol also needs volunteers to help with the operations, Damalerio said.

He added that they will be receiving 35,000 food packs on Monday from Cebu. The Department of National Defense (DND) is also arranging to send a Philippine Navy ship to bring in more relief goods and heavy equipment from Manila.

No power

Typhoon Odette destroyed homes and left Bohol with no power supply and water. 

Damalerio said that seven towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and more than 200 electric posts fell down.

This was one of the reasons for the delayed emergency response of the PDRRMO because they had to clear the road blocks so people could communicate in affected areas, he said.

“We’re looking at probably more than a month to fully restore power. The immediate concern is to restore power so that water utilities can also start pumping out water,” Damalerio said.

He however said that all major roads and national highways in the province are passable.

There was flooding in the municipality of Loboc as the Loboc River overflowed, covering the church, municipal hall, and police in floodwaters, but Damalerio said that the water already subsided.

“As of yesterday, nag-subside na pero medyo mataas pa rin, mabilis pa rin ‘yung current ng tubig. But subsided na and passable and puwede na pasukan ang town of Loboc,” he said.

(The water already subsided but the water is still high and the current is still fast. The town of Loboc is, however, already passable.)

Bohol was placed under a state of calamity due to the damage from Odette, which made landfall over the province on Thursday. The province was under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4 then.

The Bohol LGU is still consolidating the total damages caused by Odette, which they expect would reach billions. —KG, GMA News