By Priam Nepomuceno | Philippine News Agency
The reported death toll due to Super Typhoon Uwan (international name Fung-wong) has more than doubled on Tuesday as disaster response operations continued in the affected areas.
From the six previously reported, the number has climbed to 18 as of 11:00 a.m., according to Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator for Administration Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV.
In an online briefing, Alejandro said 12 of the reported fatalities are from the Cordillera Administrative Region, three from Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), and one each in Regions 5 (Bicol), 6 (Western Visayas), and 8 (Eastern Visayas). Causes of death were landslide, drowning, electrocution, and falling debris.
Meanwhile, there were 28 reported injuries and two missing due to Uwan, Alejandro said.
“As of today (Tuesday), the affected and displaced population ay umaabot na po ng 2.4 million individuals or 653,000 families,” he said, adding that around 11,000 evacuation centers are now being used.
Based on the assessment, Alejandro said Catanduanes is the hardest-hit area by Uwan. The province’s water system, he pointed out, sustained severe damage that it would take authorities 15 to 20 days to restore water supply.
“So we have to attend to the needs doon sa Catanduanes dito sa water supply,” the OCD official said.
Catanduanes, along with Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte, is also experiencing power problems due to electrical posts toppled by Uwan.
Alejandro said they already requested the Department of Energy to fast-track the restoration of power in the Bicol Region through its so-called Task Force Energy Resiliency.
As for government assistance, Alejandro said 10,000 family food packs have just arrived in Catanduanes from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to augment existing resources there.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian is also in the province to meet with local government officials to determine and assess their needs.
In the same online briefing, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the military is fully involved with the ongoing government response efforts in Uwan’s aftermath.
She said at present, 11,017 disaster response teams are prepositioned for deployment, while 427 teams, consisting of 3,332 military personnel from various services, have already been mobilized together with reservists and force multipliers.
Padilla said that 2,827 land transport assets, along with 169 ships and rubber boats and 45 rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, are now deployed for various relief and associated missions.
“Tulong-tulong ang AFP at LGUs (local government units) sa damage assessment, pag-secure sa mga evacuation centers, at paghatid ng essential supplies habang sinisimulan na ang repair ng mga kalsada, tulay, at public facilities,” she added.
