MANILA, Philippines — The death toll in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Odette (international name Rai) now stands at 378, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Sunday.
In the latest situation report sent to media, the NDRRMC said that 60 remained missing while 742 people were listed as injured after Odette passed over the northern parts of Mindanao and southern Visayas, and Palawan.
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Of the 378 recorded deaths, 218 remain unidentified as of this post. Only 54 casualties have been confirmed while 324 are still up for verification.
The report added that exactly 3,952,880 individuals or 1,012,997 families were affected by Odette as 546,100 displaced persons remained in 1,198 evacuation centers around the country.
The number of evacuation centers being used was previously 1,204 on Saturday, though the NDRRMC clarified that the numbers were still subject to change.
"It's possible that the evacuees started going home, they've been released from evacuation centers because the weather started to improve in those areas," NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal also said in an interview aired over dzMM TeleRadyo earlier.
Most of the reported deaths come from Central Visayas, particularly in Cebu and Bohol, Timbal said.
The NDRRMC added that Odette caused almost P16.7 billion in infrastructure damages, while agriculture losses amounted to P3.9 billion. Damaged houses also tallied an estimated cost of P29.2 million.
Thus far, the national government's agencies have pooled a total of P107 million in aid, per NDRRMC computations.
Earlier Sunday, the Philippine National Police said it was awaiting directives from national government agencies on its role in assisting cash aid distribution efforts for survivors of Odette.
— Franco Luna