‘Vinta’ death toll in Lanao reaches 130

Residents of Sitio Pansor in Salvador, Lanao del Norte, carry on an improvised bamboo stretcher the remains of a child across a shallow portion of a river that swelled at the height of Tropical Storm “Vinta.” —RICHEL V. UMEL

TUBOD, Lanao del Norte — Provincial officials continued to confront the grim task of retrieving the bodies of people killed in the floods and landslides caused by Tropical Storm “Vinta” (international name: Tembin) three weeks ago.

Abeliza Manzano, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer, said 39 people remained missing as of Friday even though more bodies were being found as rescuers had now shifted operations from search and rescue to search and
retrieval.

The official death toll in the province has reached 130, with nine victims still unidentified at press time.

Retrieval operations

“We were supposed to have a break in retrieval operations this weekend, [but] residents of Lala town informed the Incident Command Post of three cadavers seen floating with debris along the Maranding River waterway,” Manzano added.

But even bodies of the dead continued to pile up, members of the recovery teams said there was still a glimmer of hope that survivors could still be found, even in the debris.

But in Munai town, Mayor Casan Maquiling said there was little hope to find survivors among the seven people who remained missing after the Dec. 22 floods and landslides which killed about a dozen residents.

As this developed, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council urged Lanao del Norte officials to appoint permanent Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers (MDRRMOs).

MDRRMO heads

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero said that under the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, local government units (LGUs) were mandated to create MDRRMOs and appoint regular heads.

In the case of Lanao del Norte, Panadero said that only 52 percent of the 22 towns had permanent MDRRMO heads. The rest had designated MDRRMOs only.

“An MDRRM officer is a must (so LGUs could) give focus to disaster preparedness, response, and mitigation measures to prevent casualties when disaster arises,” he said.

He said a well-prepared area could avoid casualties through preemptive evacuations and cleanup of waterways even before any calamity strikes.