‘Usman’ death toll climbs to 85

TRAGIC SITE Vice President Leni Robredo inspects on Wednesday the extent of the damage caused by landslides at Sitio Igot, Barangay Patitinan, Sagñay, Camarines Sur. PHOTO FROM OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

The death toll from landslides and devastating floods from Tropical Depression “Usman” has climbed to 85 in Bicol and three other regions, with 20 people still missing as rescuers slowly reached cutoff communities, officials said on Wednesday.

The casualties were mostly killed when their homes were buried by landslides after days of heavy rains, said Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Landslides, flooding

The tropical depression, which weakened into a low pressure system before leaving the Philippines on Sunday, brought heavy rains that triggered landslides and flooding in the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions.

The NDRRMC said the provinces of Albay, Sorsogon and Camarines Sur had been placed under a state of calamity to give them access to emergency funds.

Bulan town in Sorsogon, as well as the municipalities of Baco, Naujan, Socorro, Pola, Pinamalayan, Bansud and Bongabon in Oriental Mindoro have also declared a state of calamity.

Bicol hardest hit

The Bicol region, with a population of 5.8 million, was the hardest hit, with 68 killed in intense rains and landslides. Damage to agriculture in this rice- and corn-producing region was estimated at P342 million ($6.5 million).

Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday said the national government should reinforce disaster management and prioritize infrastructure projects that would prevent huge losses and damage during natural calamities, particulary in the Bicol region.

“We need to identify those areas that are highly at risk and should be deserted to prevent events like this,” said Robredo, who was at the village of Patitinan to assess the needs of affected residents.

“We also need to prioritize projects for prevention and mitigation like flood control,” Robredo added.

Heartbreaking

Robredo and her staff also went around Bicol villages, including Sitio Igot, where rescuers were still trying to retrieve six bodies.

“It was so heartbreaking,” Robredo said. “The landslide area, from what we saw, was really unfit for residential [purposes],” she noted.

“We already gave the [people] cash assistance and relief goods from our Angat Buhay partners, but I think what they really need the most, especially those who lost almost all their relatives, is a long-term livelihood to help them start again,” the Vice President said.

Rescuers, including the police and military, used heavy-lifting equipment to clear roads leading to landslide sites and entered flooded communities using rubber boats.

More than 45,000 families, or some 191,600 individuals, in 457 barangays in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Calabarzon and Mimaropa were affected by Usman, with 6,637 families still in 170 evacuation centers, the NDRRMC said. —WITH A REPORT FROM STEPHANIE FLORIDA