Death toll from Typhoon Ruby rises to 18

MANILA, Philippines - The official death toll from Typhoon Ruby rose to 18 as of yesterday with the number of injured pegged at 916 as this year’s strongest howler left the Philippine area of responsibility after devastating the Visayas and some parts of Southern Luzon.

In an updated report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Ruby affected 659,446 families or 2,779,248 people after making landfall in Dolores, Eastern Samar over the weekend. More than 200,000 families or 940,290 individuals were still staying with relatives or at 3,186 evacuation centers in nine-typhoon affected regions.

NDRRMC executive director Alexander Pama also said 93.38 percent of downed communications facilities have been restored by the Philippine Long Distance Co., Digitel, Smart Communications and Sun Cellular. Restoration work on affected Globe Telecom network is also 74 percent complete, NDRRMC said.

Pama reported that the estimated cost of damage to infrastructure and agriculture, including in Caraga region in Mindanao, has increased from more than P2 billion the other day to P3.2 billion yesterday.

In a briefing, Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II said the situation in affected areas has stabilized.

He said more roads had been cleared, making it easier for relief teams to reach affected areas. But he said it would take electric cooperatives two to three weeks to restore power.

“In whole, in terms of the emergency phase as a result of this calamity, it is now nearing its end with local governments conducting damage assessments on government infrastructure,” Roxas said.

“Fire trucks from the Bureau of Fire Protection have been delivering potable water to the barangays that are still without water supply,” Roxas said.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said it is sticking to its commitment to restore its system before Christmas.

“We intend to restore our backbone lines within the week. All our remaining unrestored 69-kv lines in Leyte and Samar will be ready to transmit power to the different distribution utilities and electric cooperatives by Dec. 25,” NGCP president and CEO Henry Sy Jr. said yesterday.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) for its part said aggregate damage to crops, fisheries and livestock sub-sectors has risen to 1.878 billion.

Out of the 55,872 hectares of affected rice lands, 37,314 hectares may still recover. Lost were 78,497 metric tons (MT) of palay valued at P1.545 billion.

In his speech before leaving for Busan to attend the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Republic of Korea (ASEAN-ROK) commemorative summit, President Aquino said there is no more need to declare a state of national calamity as government effort is now focused on restoring normalcy.

Aquino said before Ruby came, he spoke with Korean Ambassador Lee Hyuk to inform him that his participation in the summit would depend on the typhoon’s impact and extent of damage.

The President said he was concerned that the typhoon would again pass by the areas hit by Yolanda. He said he was glad to hear that Ruby’s impact was not as severe as Yolanda’s.

“The truth is there were those considering proposing that we declare a state of national calamity. This provides us more confidence in our goals: While we attend to the problems within the country, we also focus our attention on Philippine foreign affairs,” Aquino said.

But he said he would continue to monitor developments while in Busan.

Aquino said he would like to thank South Korea as well for helping the Philippines when it was hit by Yolanda.

He said it even deployed troops in communities needing rescue and rehabilitation efforts.  

The head of the UN Development Program (UNDP), in a letter to Aquino, commended the “highly effective precautionary measures put in place by the Philippine government and local government units to prepare for a typhoon of this magnitude.”

Helen Clark, UNDP administrator, also said “this extraordinary achievement is a clear reflection of the careful planning and strengthened institutional capacity of the relevant authorities,” adding it could be “an important model of building resilience” for tother countries faced with natural disasters.

She added that the UNDP is ready to help the government and the affected people rebuild their lives and livelihood, including providing “technical assistance towards ensuring even stronger prevention, mitigation, and response capacities.”

Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that while Ruby has left the Philippine area of responsibility, waters would be rough in Luzon due to the surge of the northeast monsoon.

PAGASA also issued a gale warning for Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos provinces, La Union and Pangasinan, all in Northern Luzon; and Zambales and Bataan, in Central Luzon.

Winds ranging from 52 to 68 kilometers per hour are expected over the affected seaboards in the next 24 hours, producing waves of up to 3.4 to 5 meters high.

“Fishing boats and other small seacraft are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves,” it said. – With Aurea Calica, Helen Flores, Czeriza Valencia, Iris Gonzales, Rainier Allan Ronda, Mike Frialde