Retrieval operations in flood areas widen

MANILA, Philippines - The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) expanded yesterday the search and retrieval operations for hundreds of missing victims of flashfloods caused by tropical storm “Sendong” in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro to cover 400 square kilometers off the coasts of the two cities.

NDRRMC chief Benito Ramos said Air Force helicopters and ships from the Navy and Coast Guard have been deployed.

One of the teams recovered another body near Gingoog City.

“There are indications that some of those who were missing were swept away by the sea current toward Camiguin. We are now using military helicopters, Navy and Coast Guard ships as we widen our search and retrieval operations,” Ramos said.

The Army’s 4th and 1st Infantry Divisions and have also sent units that work 24 hours a day on three shifts in disaster areas in Cagayan de Oro and Iliga.

NDRRMC said the death toll of last weekend’s flashfloods now stood at 1,080, mostly residents of the two devastated cities.

Officials said that more than 1,000 people were reported still missing from coastal villages in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

“In terms of our ongoing retrieval operations we are now using heavy equipment to dig flood debris in the search for bodies,” said Maj. Julio Eugene Osias IV, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division.

Other military units have been assisting in the hauling and the distribution of relief goods, food, medicine and drinking water to about 33,774 families or 189,955 persons in evacuation centers.

Osias added that most of the evacuees tried to return to their homes but found their houses washed away by floodwaters, prompting them to return to the evacuation centers.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said local policemen are preventing residents of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan from returning to their houses in the danger zones.

Bartolome ordered regional and provincial police officials in the two areas to persuade residents not to return to areas that the local government units have declared as danger zones.

He said the mayors of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan are preparing the relocation of affected residents.

He said police nationwide have raised P1 million in financial assistance for Iligan residents and P1.5 million for Cagayan de Oro.

Ramos also announced yesterday that the city government of Cagayan de Oro had already identified an area where a new community will be built for the displaced evacuees.

“The place is no longer flood and landslide-prone. The place is now being leveled,” said Ramos, adding that the construction of new houses would start after the situation and needs of the evacuees have been completely addressed.

In Iligan City, some 105,542 residents have been affected by Sendong and are now staying in various evacuation centers.

Most of the displaced residents have lost their belongings, except for the clothes they are wearing, Ramos said.

Brig. Gen. Roland Amerille, deputy commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division and head of the ongoing retrieval operations, said operations to recover bodies are now concentrated in Iligan Bay.

Navy and Coast Guard divers have spotted bodies underneath logs submerged at the bottom of the bay.

Amerille said seawater in the area is now emitting foul odor.  

More Doppler radars Malacañang announced the acquisition of more Doppler radars and other equipment that accurately measure the volume of rain to avoid flashfloods.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said they will [prioritize the installation of water sensors” by 2012 in the rivers of Cagayan de Oro, Iponan, Cagayan de Oro-Iligan, Misamis Oriental and Iligan City.

“The Aquino administration is moving fast in its relief efforts for the victims of tropical storm Sendong, as well as in providing additional technology to refine our country’s weather prediction systems,” he said in a statement.

The Department of Budget and Management said “the production and installation of the automatic water level sensors are part of the Aquino administration’s immediate-response projects for Visayas and Northern Mindanao.”

The new equipment would improve the weather forecasting capabilities of the government after President Aquino directed Abad to release P150 million for the installation of 1,000 automatic water-level sensors nationwide.

“This is to aid forecasters in tracking river water levels and potential floods,” Abad added.

The Department of Science and Technology reported that since the 1980s, only four rivers in the country have been installed with water level sensors.

The released funding will significantly improve the government’s river monitoring system nationwide to aid in forecasting potential floods.

In the last quarter of the year, the DBM has released P150 million for the purchase of three Doppler radars to boost national weather monitoring, accurate forecasting, and early flood warning by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The Doppler radars will be installed in Antique, Palawan, and the Zamboanga Peninsula. 

Dopplers that would be set up in the western parts of the country are expected to complete the country’s real-time coverage of weather and climate trends.

Meanwhile, teams from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Medico-Legal Division have processed 114 cadavers of victims in Cagayan de Oro.

Dr. Alvin David, NBI Medico-Legal Division Chief, said the temporary burial of processed cadavers were personally witnessed by members of the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the NBI to ensure the correct tagging of body bags for future retrieval by relatives.

The DVI team is processing the cadavers at the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines hangar in Cagayan de Oro.

An augmentation team from NBI Cebu, led by Dr. Rene Cam, arrived at around 8 a.m. in Cagayan de Oro City together with a technician, one fingerprint examiner, a photographer, and five psychologists from the city government of Cebu to help in the debriefing and psychological trauma management of the survivors. 

School damage

The Department of Education (DepEd) said the damage caused by Sendong on public schools in northern Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had reached P105.95 million. Some 39 schools with 406 classrooms were damaged, including P20.42-million worth of school furniture and P3.8-million worth of computers.

Damage to school buildings had reached P79.6 million.

The damaged schools include two buildings washed out by floodwaters in Iligan City.

The damaged schools were reported in Regions 9, 10, 11, ARMM and the Caraga region, covering the divisions of Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, Agusan del Sur, and Lanao del Sur.

Four schools in Cagayan de Oro City, 10 schools in Iligan City and 1 school in Compostela Valley were used as evacuation centers to house affected families.

DepEd said that members of the Education Cluster conducted national and regional coordination meetings for the Rapid Needs Assessment study and immediate plans for response, recovery, and rehabilitation efforts. With Delon Porcalla, Sandy Araneta, Rainier Allan Ronda