‘Yolanda’ death toll breaches 1,800; 80,000 houses totally destroyed
Tacloban Airport is covered by debris after powerful Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban city, in Leyte province in central Philippines, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Bodies recovered from areas devastated by super typhoon “Yolanda” reached 1,833, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Wednesday.
More than 6.9 million people were affected in 41 provinces of the country by what is considered among the world’s strongest storms. Of the 582,303 people displaced, only 286,433 are in the 993 evacuation centers.
Meanwhile, 80,047 houses were totally destroyed by the typhoon’s strong winds and incidences of storm surge that inundated coastal municipalities.
Of those killed, 1,298 were from Leyte, 200 from Western Samar, and 162 from Eastern Samar. Many of the dead bodies retrieved from Eastern Visayas remained unidentified.
Cebu has 58 fatalities, mostly from Bantayan Island, Bogo City, Daanbantayan and San Remigio municipalities.
Article continues after this advertisementAt least 103 fatalities were recorded in Region VI, specifically from Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique and Negros Occidental.
Article continues after this advertisementFive were killed in Palawan – one found dead inside a tourist boat in Coron, two drowned and another two fell from a bridge on their way to an evacuation center.
The names of some of the fatalities may be accessed through the NDRRMC report.
The provinces of Quezon, Batangas, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Zamboanga City and Surigao del Sur each suffered one fatality.
NDRRMC said 2,623 people were injured while 84 remain missing.
The government has made available P38.3 million worth of relief assistance, more than half from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), P14 million from local government units and P4 million from the Department of Health (DOH). This does not include the aid sent or pledged by other countries and groups.
Although there is still no electricity in parts of Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII and Caraga, cellular services are slowly being re-established in some of the typhoon-hit areas.
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