Mass graves dot ‘Paradise Island’

The "Paradise Island" of Camiguin was overwhelmed with grief yesterday as mass graves were dug up in the drenched countryside and rescuers scrambled to find some of the 237 people still missing in the aftermath of storm "Nanang."

"We believe that the 237 still missing here (in Camiguin) are already dead," regional civil defense director Casiano Matela said as the scenic island province began to pick up the pieces after the out-of-season storm.

Weathermen said the tropical storm strengthened yesterday with gusts of up to 135 kilometers per hour (kph) as it swirled toward the South China Sea and possibly Vietnam, which is also recovering from three months of flooding that left at least 360 people dead.

Disaster officials said the death toll from Nanang is expected to reach 350. At least 140 bodies have been recovered in four provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao while hundreds of people are still missing.

President Arroyo is set to fly to Camiguin tomorrow to inspect the devastation and determine what relief and rehabilitation programs can be funded through official development assistance from two countries which she did not identify.

The storm devastated the capital Mambajao, as well as Mahinog, Guinsiliban, Sagay and Catarman towns.

Worst hit were Mahinog and Sagay where at least 4,137 families were displaced while 41,160 people were affected in the five towns.

Most of the dead were from Mahinog. The destruction was so complete that only five of 200 houses were still standing in Barangay Hubangon.

"We are not giving up on those still missing. We are using helicopters to scour the seas and shovels and picks to dig," said Camiguin Gov. Pedro Romualdo, who wept upon seeing the dead children and elderly lined up in a basketball court in Mahinog town.

Many of the island’s residents are still in shock over the calamity. While electrical power has been restored in some areas, many parts of the province are still flooded and most of its few roads are still unpassable.

Soldiers and civilians using picks, shovels and even their bare hands continued to dig through mud to unearth bodies, many already stiff and bloated.

Officials urgently asked for body bags, chain saws, medicine, bottled water, mats, and additional personnel to help dig through tons of mud.

Relief goods and rescue workers are being rushed to the island but the storm has dumped mud on Camiguin’s small airport, rendering it unusable. Instead, supplies and rescuers must cross the still-churning channel between the island and Mindanao.

Paradise lost

The Associated Press reported the rescue workers were often guided by the smell of decomposing bodies and the town has run out of embalming fluid to preserve the dead.

The Mahinog gymnasium was turned into a makeshift morgue where dozens of corpses were lined up on galvanized iron sheets so that anxious relatives could try to identify them.

"We have to bury them this afternoon. Otherwise, they will cause a stench and pose health risks," said Mahinog Mayor Benedicto Castanares as he surveyed the damage to what was once the island province’s most prosperous town.

A back hoe dug a massive hole in the town cemetery and coffins, as many as eight in a row, were laid inside and were abruptly covered with earth. Locals said there was no time for prayers since more coffins were arriving for burial.

Residents nervously checked casualty lists at the town square where weeping relatives built coffins out of used plywood and billboards for the victims.

"We have not stopped making coffins since yesterday. We have so far constructed 80 makeshift coffins from scrap wood," said carpenter Eddie Labadan, one of the 20 coffin makers who worked round-the-clock to keep pace with the recovery of bodies.

The tiny island of 65,000 people off northern Mindanao had previously been spared the seasonal typhoons and locals were unprepared for the fury of Nanang.

"I still cannot believe what happened. I’ve never seen anything like this," Romualdo said.

"This is terrible," said Col. Ernesto Lumang, who heads the military unit taking part in the rescue operations. "Nature has devastated this beautiful paradise."

Camiguin, dubbed "Island Paradise," boasts of active volcano Hibok-Hibok and six other volcanoes, developed and undeveloped hot springs, several middle-market beach resorts and a generally pristine setting.

Trail of destruction

Fast-moving flood waters bearing boulders cascaded from the volcanoes into mountain villages in Mahinog and riverside communities in Catarman while most people were still sleeping early Wednesday.

Residents reported a thunderous water spout — a tornado over water — before the flash floods hit.

Police officer Romeo Jaguilma and his family survived in Hubangon by climbing on the roof of their concrete house, which withstood flood waters, and clutching their children in the dark as he sang a hymn.

They could hear cries for help from their neighbors over the rushing water all around them.

"The noise was very deafening," said Jaguilma’s wife Lorna, 36. "It sounded like a hundred trucks and a hundred boats all arriving at the same time."

Her husband said he also could hear boulders hitting the side of the house but three coconut trees and two small fruit trees provided some protection.

The storm was the biggest calamity to hit Camiguin since 1951 when Hibok-Hibok erupted, killing 500 people but Camiguin was not the only area which was engulfed by Nanang’s destructive power.

In Romblon, nine people were rescued while six others were reported missing when four motor bancas capsized off Tablas Island on Thursday evening.

Coast Guard information officer Lt. Arman Bolilo identified the missing as Ramon Reloy Sr., Manny Reloy, Ramon Martino, Elvira Martino, Anthony Reloy and Orlando Melendrez.

Off Pangasinan, a Panamanian cargo ship, MV Ho Feng 8, bearing logs from Indonesia and bound for Hong Kong sank late Thursday with its 19 Filipino crewmen.

The Coast Guard had immediately launched search and rescue operations but choppy waters and strong winds blocked the operations.

Coast Guard Commander Marcelino Campos told The STAR he had asked Malaysian and Japanese vessels for help in rescuing the 19 crewmen "but the ships’ captains didn’t want to gamble."

The manifest of MV Ho Feng 8 listed the missing crewmen as Juanito Baylon, Rufino Santos Jr., Natalio Tanghan, Ronald Longno, Manilo Japson, Carlito Acebuche, Danilo Ventura, Luis Bretana, Vicente Onate III, Bobby Teodosio, Jecil Bernal, Arnold Reyes, Ernesto Moscoso Jr., Ricky Gardose, Hernani Eguia, Anthony France Gomez, Romeo Asebuche, Ludovico Palari and Jaybee Zafra.

In Western Visayas, 11 people died while eight others were reported missing as the storm passed through the region on Thursday, flooding most of regional center Iloilo City.

According to the Regional Disaster Coordinating Center, 10 of the dead were from Negros Occidental while one was from Antique. Aside from the deaths, 528 families and 797,062 people were affected by the storm in 499 barangays across the region.

In Mindoro, electrical power supply was cut off after the storm hit the island province, affecting 290 families in Mansalay and Pinamalayan towns in Oriental Mindoro and destroying 300,000 fruit trees. – Reports from Rainier Alan Ronda, Marichu Villanueva, Nestor Etolle, Antonieta Lopez, Joe Leuterio, Eva de Leon, Leo Solinap, Roberto Dejon, Lino de la Cruz