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Sunday, June 22, 2008
Typhoon Frank kills 17
CEBU CITY -- Four persons were killed while four others were declared missing after typhoon "Frank" hit Cebu's northern towns.
Nationwide, flashfloods and landslides killed at least 17 people, including 10 who drowned in a swollen river in South Upi, Maguindanao.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
Rainy weather is on the forecast for Cebu Sunday, but all typhoon warning signals were lifted. That's cold comfort, however, for Cebu's northern towns.
"Roads were destroyed, street posts were bent, and electric wires were left strewn all over. This is worse than (super typhoon) 'Ruping' (in 1990)," Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.
"Everybody was so scared," he added.
Only Iloilo, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental remained under signal number one as of 10 p.m. Saturday.
Related stories:
Flashfloods leave 10 dead, 20 missing
Cebu bears Frank's wrath in Central Visayas
12 killed as typhoon Fengshen sweeps through central RP
Cebu braces for storm’s effects
Four others were under signal number two: Antique, Aklan, Capiz, and Sibuyan, where a ferry with 700 passengers ran aground Saturday afternoon.
Coast guard chief Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said the MV Princess of Stars, owned by Cebu-based Sulpicio Lines, was "dead in the water" after its engine failed around noon near Sibuyan Island.
In Cebu, the typhoon displaced hundreds of families and damaged millions of pesos worth of infrastructure and agriculture in several towns. No specific estimates were available Saturday, as the assessment reports began to trickle down to the disaster councils.
4 killed
Medellin's Mayor Ramirez confirmed that an old woman and her grandson were killed when a tree fell on their shanty in Barangay Kawit last Friday night.
In Bantayan, two persons were also killed when a tree landed on their house in Barangay Sellon.
Barangay Captain Crispin Allon said that Nanette Hibanada and her 11-month-old baby were sleeping past 10 p.m. last Friday when the accident occurred.
Four fishermen remained missing after their boat capsized off Barangay Mahawak, also in Medellin.
But Ramirez said they could not provide the names yet, pending the arrival of more information.
Ramirez voiced disappointment over the failure of the weather bureau to issue appropriate warnings to coastal towns.
Although the weather bureau placed northern Cebu under signal number two last Friday, the mayor said the winds were so powerful it felt like a signal number three typhoon.
Bantayan Mayor Geralyn Escario-Cañares said they could not yet determine the total number of affected families in her town as data-gathering was ongoing.
Power cut
Both Medellin and Bantayan towns lost electricity Friday night, along with at least 11 other towns and cities in the north.
In a dyLA interview, Mayor Escario-Cañares said the typhoon tore off part of roof of their newly constructed multi-purpose gym.
Acacia trees toppled. Escario said she was worried as she and most of the town's department heads were in Cebu City because they had an executive meeting last Thursday and couldn't sail for home last Friday.
She was forced to monitor her municipality by mobile phone, getting reports from her vice mayor and town councilors.
In another dyLA interview, Daanbantayan Vice Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot said almost all the coastal barangays in her town went underwater, with Barangay Paypay as the most badly affected.
Relief
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia sent a team to assist local government units (LGUs) badly hit by the typhoon. She is scheduled to visit northern Cebu Sunday to assess the extent of damage to infrastructure and agriculture.
A team from the Provincial Engineering Office (PEO) cleared the highway from Borbon to Daanbantayan.
Eulogio Pelayre, PEO chief, said the team also carried relief goods from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.
That office sent 25 sacks of NFA rice, boxes of sardines and powdered milk to Daanbantayan town, and 30 sacks of rice to Talisay City.
It plans to send today 100 more sacks of NFA rice to the towns in the fourth district.
Dr. Cristina Giango, Integrated Provincial Health Office chief, said her office is preparing medical supplies in case of emergencies.
In Bohol, four men were reported missing since Friday.
Found
John Mark Dico and Romel Dico were reportedly fishing in Cambangga Reef, Getafe, Bohol last Thursday. When they failed to return, Benjie and Gualberto Ocaba decided to borrow Masingin Barangay Captain Artemio Vergara's pumpboat to search for them the next morning.
They also failed to return.
The four were found alive in Caubian Island, Sitio Dako, Lapu-Lapu City.
As of Friday afternoon, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) had not received reports about any incident related to typhoon Frank.
CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador said that last Friday night, he fielded 24 beat patrol policemen and teams from the Mobile Patrol Group.
Comendador serves as vice chairman of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council. (MEA/GMD/OCP/JST/AIV/Sun.Star Cebu/AP)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (June 22, 2008 issue)
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