No Pinoy casualties in Hurricane Rita

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported yesterday that no Filipinos were among the reported casualties of Hurricane "Rita," which hit the Texas-Louisiana border last Saturday.

"There are no reports of Filipinos or Filipino-American casualties from hurricane ‘Rita’ as most Filipinos south of Houston, Texas were given mandatory orders by the Texas state authorities to evacuate to safer areas," Consul Mariano Paynor Jr. of the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles said.

He said the consulate was able to speak with Dr. Anselmo Martin, a Filipino community leader from Beaumont, Texas, who informed them that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US military had everyone in the city safely evacuated.

Paynor said Martin and his wife, who is a pediatrician, were the last to be evacuated since they were the only physicians left behind to help in the evacuation of patients.

Martin told the consulate that he and his wife will return to Beaumont once the situation improves so they can assist in medical operations.

In Houston, Paynor was able to talk to another Filipino leader, lawyer Arlene Machetta, who reported that the city suffered slight damage from the hurricane and was without electricity for some hours.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has instructed Paynor to continue monitoring the situation in the areas hit by the hurricane and to assist Filipinos affected by the storm.

There was only one reported death in the wake of Rita, though some 24 elderly citizens died when their bus caught on fire and exploded during their evacuation.

According to United States Census, there were 80,123 Filipino migrants in the state of Texas as of December 2004. — Marvin Sy