Death toll climbs to 58 in Cebu; 112K displaced

THE death toll in Cebu due to supertyphoon Yolanda reached 58, with one death recorded in Guindulman, Bohol, the Office of Civil Defense in Central Visayas (OCD-7) reported.

OCD-7 administrative officer Flor Gaviola said eight people remained missing, and four were injured.

Chief Supt. Danilo Constantino, Police Regional Office (PRO-7) chief, said the casualties did not heed early warnings to evacuate from their houses.

“A lot of them were hit by debris from their own homes,” he said.

About 14 of the 58 fatalities in Cebu came from Bantayan town, with 11 from Bogo City, nine from Daanbantayan, nine from San Remegio, one from Balamban town and one from Lapu-Lapu City.

Assessed

Other casualties include three from Madridejos and Medellin, one from Pilar town, three from Santa Fe, two from Sogod and one from Tabogon.

There were 23,772 families or 112,881 persons displaced by the typhoon in Central Visayas.

These include 13,827 families or 65,907 persons in Cebu, 7,030 families or 33,184 persons in Bohol; 2,685 families or 12,801 persons in Negros Oriental and 230 families or 989 persons in Siquijor.

Gaviola said damage has yet to be assessed in the region.

In Bantayan, Mayor Ian Christopher Escario said they badly need water, food and medicines. Classes in all levels were suspended.

Secured

The military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it’s now safe to travel over the San Juanico Bridge in Tacloban City.

Centcom chief Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said they sent troops to secure the bridge following reports of looting.

He said the public can report any untoward incidents to them or to the police.

Deveraturda said the airport in Guian, Eastern Samar has been secured, but he couldn’t say yet if the airport is safe for use.

In Daanbantayan, typhoon survivors experienced bouts of diarrhea and fever due to lack of water, food and shelter.

‘It was real’

“I’m afraid there will be an epidemic of diseases in our town. I can’t imagine being in this situation in a few more days. People have nowhere to stay, they’re seeking shelter from one place to another,” Daanbantayan Mayor Augusto Corro said.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III visited at least 10 localities in northern Cebu and told the Provincial Board (PB) that the water system needed generator sets for the water supply to resume flowing.

“I haven’t seen this much devastation. You think they were scenes from TV but it was real,” he said.

Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said Manila Water Corp., a private water concessionaire, will donate a water purifier to be stationed in one of the localities in Cebu’s north.

“According to them, they can purify seawater so people there will have something to drink,” she said.

Running out

Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez said they received two generator sets from Aloguinsan and Asturias towns to ensure continued water supply.

But he said 90 percent of the houses in Medellin are destroyed.

Bogo City Mayor Celestino “Junie” Martinez Jr. advised barangay officials to use their calamity funds of P150,000 to P300,000.

“We’re running out of rice. We need canned goods, clothes and medicines. Water is very bad here,” he said.

In Tacloban, anchorman Ronald Biñas of radio DYVL, along with his technician and three drama talents, were inside the newsroom when the storm surge suddenly came.

At the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA), the Passenger Terminal 3 building was declared unfit for occupancy after being damaged by the Oct. 15 earthquake and supertyphoon Yolanda. Jhunnex Napallacan and Ador Vincent Mayol with Correspondents Chito Aragon, Norman V. Mendoza