Typhoon death toll hits 31

Pope offers prayers for victims

MANILA, Philippines — The death toll from Typhoon Ursula that devastated the Visayas over Christmas has reached 31, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported yesterday.

Pope Francis offered prayers on Thursday night for the victims of Ursula, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said. 

The NDRRMC said reports from Central, Eastern and Western Visayas as well as Mimaropa (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan) showed the highest number of fatalities were recorded in Iloilo with 13, followed by Capiz and Eastern Samar with four each, three in Oriental Mindoro, two from Leyte, and one each in Cebu, Southern Leyte and Biliran.

Officials said most of the fatalities drowned in flash floods and storm surges, while others were electrocuted or hit by flying debris.

As of yesterday, 12 persons remained missing: six in Iloilo, four in Eastern Samar and two in Capiz.

With improved weather in the Visayas and Southern Tagalog, the NDRRMC said most passenger vessels have been allowed to sail after hundreds of passengers were stranded in various ports as the Coast Guard suspended port operations due to the typhoon.

Ursula is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility this morning.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the center of Ursula was estimated at 430 kilometers west of Subic, Zambales, packing winds of 100 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 125 kph.

It was moving west southwest at 15 kph, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

A news article posted on the CBCP website said Pope Francis is empathizing with the Filipino people hard hit by the typhoon on Christmas Eve. 

“I join in the pain that hit the dear population of the Philippines of the Typhoon Phanfone,” the pope said. 

Francis was speaking before some 25,000 Catholic faithful present at St. Peter’s Square during his Angelus address on Dec. 26, and asked them to pray a Hail Mary for the Filipinos whom he said he “loves so much.”

“I pray for the numerous victims, for the injured and for their families,” he said. 

For the first time in papal history, Pope Francis presided over a Simbang Gabi at St. Peter’s Basilica dedicated to the Filipino Catholic faithful. 

The pope visited the Philippines in 2015 to empathize with victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda that hit Tacloban City and other parts of the Visayas and killed thousands of residents on Nov. 8, 2013.

The typhoon also displaced 185,000 people, with over 43,000 taking refuge in evacuation centers, the NDRRMC said in its latest report.

Ursula, the country’s 21st cyclone this year, lashed Eastern Visayas on Christmas Eve, and Western Visayas and Southern Luzon on Christmas Day.

The typhoon made seven landfalls in 48 hours, cutting power and communication lines and damaging more than 2,000 homes.

The tail-end of a cold front will bring moderate to occasional heavy rains over most of Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region this weekend.

The weather system will also bring rough seas over the seaboards of Northern Luzon, it said.

Initial damage to the agriculture sector in areas battered by Ursula has reached P634 million.

The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Operation Center reported initial damage and losses in the farm sector at P633.72 million.

This covers 4,100 hectares of agricultural lands with production losses of 969 metric tons, affecting some 44,061 farmers in Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan, Western, Central and Eastern Visayas.

The fisheries sector was hardest hit, accounting for 93 percent of damage valued at P587.41 million, affecting 43,813 fisherfolk.

Losses in fisheries include fishponds with tilapia, fish cages, fish pens, seaweed, payao, motorized and non-motorized bancas, rafts and boundary markers.

Rice sector damage is at 3,961 hectares of rice fields and 969 MT of produce valued at P42 million.

Some P2.55 million worth of infrastructure, including the Abuyog Experiment Station and Batbangon Experiment Station, were also damaged.

Corn production loss was placed at P1.79 million affecting 138 hectares with 0.6 MT.

Seeds from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund will also be distributed to qualified beneficiaries who opt to replant immediately.

The DA said the Agricultural Credit Policy Council has allocated P60 million under the Survival and Recovery program.

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. has available funds to pay for the losses incurred and will fast-track processing of crop insurance of farmers affected by the typhoon.

Volunteers and staff from Philippine Red Cross (PRC) worked round the clock through the Christmas holidays to help families and communities affected and displaced by Ursula.

Sen. Richard Gordon, PRC chairman and chief executive officer, yesterday hailed volunteers and personnel for continuing to work up to this weekend as they gather assessment reports to ascertain other areas that need emergency rescue and relief assistance.

“We at the Philippine Red Cross never stop working as our chapters and assessment teams continue to gather reports from Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Western Visayas and Mimaropa regions so we can immediately know the pressing needs of the affected population and send the assistance that each particular area badly needs,” Gordon said.

A total of 10,587 individuals were sheltered in 35 evacuation centers in Western Samar, Cebu, Surigao del Norte, Occidental Mindoro, Iloilo and Romblon as of Christmas Day.

Electricity

The Department of Energy (DOE) has intensified efforts to restore electricity in areas affected by Typhoon Ursula before the New Year comes in.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the Task Force on Energy Resiliency (TFER) continues working together for the immediate full restoration of energy services after the typhoon barreled through the Visayas and some parts of Luzon on Christmas Day. 

“The entire energy family is striving to normalize energy services, especially power, in the affected areas at the soonest, if possible before the new year. It is extremely disheartening that Christmas for some of our kababayans got dampened by this disaster, and we commiserate with all those who lost a family member or a friend to Typhoon Ursula,” he said.

“For the energy family’s part, we have our courageous and hardworking linemen and other personnel on the ground who are working round-the-clock since yesterday to safely and urgently restore access to power,” Cusi said.

In the Bicol region, the National Power Corp.-Small Power Utilities Group (NPC-SPUG) power plants have suspended operations due to strong winds and heavy rainfall. 

In the transmission sector, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) reported transmission facilities in Aklan, Northern Leyte, Eastern Samar, Negros Oriental, Antique and Iloilo were affected by the typhoon.

It said a total of 14 towers and 59 transmission structures were damaged by the storm. As of 2 p.m. yesterday, one 138-kV line and five 69-kV lines are still de-energized. 

In the distribution sector, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) said electric cooperatives (ECs) have started restoring power distribution services to several provinces that experienced outages due to the onslaught of the typhoon.

The NEA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department reported that 16 provinces in Mimaropa, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas lost electricity due to the effects of the typhoon. There are 29 ECs in these provinces affected by the storm.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported yesterday that portions of three roads in areas hit by Ursula remain impassable to all types of vehicles. 

The DPWH said that one road section each remains impassable in Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas due to scoured pier, damaged spillway of bridge and flooding. 

In Cagayan Valley, the DPWH said that the Mira Bridge along Centro, Sanchez Mira in Cagayan is still closed to traffic due to scoured pier after it was hit by strong winds and heavy rains brought about by the typhoon. 

The DPWH said that it has already installed warning signs to inform motorists on the condition of the bridge and has initiated measures to prevent the damage from worsening, since it was already damaged when hit by Typhoon Tisoy. 

In Western Visayas, the DPWH said that the Iloilo-Capiz Road along Barangay Angub, Cuartero, Capiz remains closed as of yesterday morning due to massive flooding. 

In Eastern Visayas, the DPWH said that the roads connecting the municipalities of Jaro, Dagami, Burauen and La Paz in Leyte are not passable due to damaged spillway of Binahaan Bridge along Barangay Tingib, Pastrana in Leyte. 

The DPWH said that an alternate route was opened in Sta. Fe, Pastrana and Dagami Road while public works employees continue to monitor the condition of the bridge affected by the typhoon.

As of yesterday morning, the DPWH said that they have already cleared nine roads damaged by Ursula, including sections in the regions of Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Caraga.  –  With Helen Flores, Robertzon Ramirez, Danessa Rivera, Louise Maureen Simeon, Michael Punongbayan, Rainier Allan Ronda