Odette death toll hits 28 in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines — The death toll from Typhoon Odette in Negros Occidental reached 28 on Saturday, according to authorities.

Of the total deaths, 13 were in Sipalay City where at least 50 other residents were also missing, according to Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division.

Ten of the individuals drowned in flood and two others were hit by falling trees and another died of hypothermia, he added.

Sipalay has been difficult to reach since the onslaught of Odette on Thursday due to damaged roads blocked by fallen trees and electric posts.

According to Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, the city needs food, water, hygiene kits, and generators since it was still without power and communication has been difficult.

The other deaths caused by Odette were in six in Kabankalan City, three in Moises Padilla, 3, and one each in Binalbagan, Ilog, Isabela, and Manapla towns as well as in the cities of La Carlota and San Carlos.

Among the fatalities in Moises Padilla was five-year-old Clareiz Solteda, who was pinned under a piece of wood when the typhoon blew her house away, on Friday.

Rogelio Gloriba, 70, was killed after he was pinned down by a fallen cotton tree.

Jose Ariel Valenzuela , 57, was found hanging from a tree with his neck caught between branches.

ATM