Government agencies are jointly mounting post-disaster response operations while at the same time undertaking rescue and relief efforts in the provinces ravaged by Typhoon Odette, which has killed at least 26 people as of Sunday’s report.
The 26 fatalities were reported by the Philippine National Police by way of a consolidated report by its command center, which was released by PNP spokesman Col. Roderick Augustus Balba. The figure was higher than the officially-validated four by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The NDRRMC however acknowledged having culled 27 reported deaths but the cases have to go through the official validation of its clusters.
The number of fatalities, which the PNP said came from areas under the areas of Police Regional Office (PRO) 6, 7, 10, and 13, rose as local officials reported varying number of deaths while appealing for help from the national government.
Bohol Governor Arthur Yap, for one, has claimed that Odette, which has veered out of the country on Sunday, has killed 40 people in his province. Other officials of typhoon-affected towns and provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao also issued death counts, but the NDRRMC said all of the figures have to be officially validated.
The PNP said at least 24, 312 families or 100,353 individuals were evacuated in areas under the PRO 4B, 6, 7, 8, and 10 alone, which is higher than its previous data as reports from police offices in affected areas are coming in trickles due to difficulty in communications.
The PNP reported that at least 46 areas under the PRO 6, 7, 12, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR) are still flooded while 3,077 areas under the PRO 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 were still without power supply.
Mobile phone signal in at least 704 areas under the PRO 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, and BAR are also still out.
Balba said PNP chief General Dionardo Carlos has ordered PNP troops on the ground to continuously provide manpower and logistical support to affected local government units, especially those who have been declared under the state of calamity. “Our personnel will focus efforts in securing the evacuation centers, road clearing operations, and assisting in relief operations. We have to secure the peace and order situation in these areas and at the same time oversee the implementation of health protocols,” Balba quoted Carlos as saying.
The resources of the PNP which include search, rescue, and retrieval equipment, land, air, and water assets have been deployed in the affected areas. Balba said since power supply has not been restored in some areas, PNP personnel will ensure that there will be no looting of establishments.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been using its assets in rescue and relief operations in Dinagat Islands, Siargao Island and Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur in Mindanao as well as in Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas. The PCG, in coordination with various shipping companies, also conducted an emergency meeting on Saturday, 18 December 2021, on the recovery of vessels that ran aground or were sunk at the Cebu City Pier and in Mandaue.