MANILA, Philippines — One person was reported killed while two others were injured in the wake of Typhoon Odette’s onslaught in the Visayas and Mindanao, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said as initial reports start coming in.
According to the OCD’s 24/7 Operations Center chief Joe Mar Perez, the reports came from the town of San Fernando in Bukidnon, although such reports are still being validated.
“As far as official report on casualties, meron pong partial information na, na na-send po sa operation center, so meron pong isang death and two injured na na-report sa San Fernando, Bukidnon,” Perez said.
“But please note na this is for validation, so ginagawa na po ng Management of the Dead and the Missing cluster po sa Region 10 and sa Bukidnon ‘yong proper victim identification para ma-oficialize po at makapagbigay tayo ng futher details,” he added.
As of Friday noon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Odette was able to maintain its strength as it moves closer to mainland Palawan.
Odette is now packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of 235 kph. It is still moving west at 25 kph.
But before Odette weakened, it barreled through Caraga and Northern Mindanao with its peak strength reaching 195 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center. The typhoon then started moving westwards to the Visayas and then to Palawan.
Currently, no areas are under a Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4, with Signal No. 3 being raised only over some areas in Luzon and the Visayas, particularly in Palawan and Iloilo.
/MUF
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