Bad roads hamper repair, relief efforts

CEBU, Philippines - After storm winds and rain showers started to die down yesterday afternoon, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council gave the go signal to their teams to head to northern towns and cities that were badly affected by supertyphoon Yolanda.

However, with the wind still up and with some roads to the north considered impassable, PDRRMC chief  Neil Sanchez said they could not send their teams immediately.

"I cannot also risk the safety of our responders," said Sanchez.

Sanchez said yesterday that as forecasted by weather agencies and experts, Yolanda affected most of the northern towns and cities of Cebu.

He explained during a midday briefing that they cannot yet send their teams to determine the damage caused to the northern towns even if they have already received reports of the severity of the problems.

However, Sanchez confirmed around 5 p.m. yesterday that he sent teams to assess the towns of Medellin, San Remigio, Daanbantayan and Bantayan Island which were badly hit by the typhoon. Sanchez said they needed to access the towns since their last update to the provincial government was early morning, before communication lines went down.

He said his team is helping local government units and other agencies in clearing operations to make roads heading to the towns passable.

Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Senior Supt. Noel Gillamac said that national roads in barangays Poblacion and Taguikan in Borbon town are impassable as well as in barangays Quimakot and Kabongan in Danao City, Poblacion and Tabunok in Tabuelan, Cotcot in Liloan, Camotes and the roads of San Francisco and Danlag in Consolacion.

CASUALTIES

The provincial government may have failed to achieve their "zero casualty" aim for the typhoon, said Sanchez, but said that he hopes to have it remain in the smallest number possible.

One person was killed and two people are still considered missing shortly after the typhoon made landfall in the Visayas region.

An elderly woman died after a coconut tree fell on her in Barangay Mahawak, Medellin town, past 8 a.m.

In Balamban town, a tugboat captain is still missing after he fell into the sea off Barangay Buanoy past 7 a.m. while he was about to disembark from the boat. Rescuers are still searching for Capt. Celito Baluntang, of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, captain of the Cebu Dreams Tugboat of Cebu Asiatic Shipping and Port Inc.

SPO1 Jose Villarino said that Baluntang was about to disembark from the tugboat after he docked in Pier 3 inside the Tsuneishi Heavy Industries when strong winds and big waves hit the boat causing him to fall into the water.

Villarino said that search and rescue personnel of the Regional Public Safety Battalion, rescuers from the local government unit, and private rescuers are still monitoring the seawaters in the neighboring towns.

In Talisay City, a man who was believed to be drunk fell into the Mananga River in Barangay Tabunok past noon. Manolito Casipong, 30, of Barangay San Isidro, was reportedly seen drunk by residents before he went missing at the river.

CEBU CITY

Based on the monitoring of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, at least 32 barangays reported uprooted trees, most of them blocked roads and damaged houses.

Landslides were also reported in barangays Buhisan, Sapangdaku, Sinsin, Taptap and Guadalupe.

The road to Cambinocot was also reported to be impassable.

City engineers, together with volunteer private contractors and barangay officials, immediately conducted clearing operations for fallen trees and landslides.

Clearings, especially in mountain barangays, were tasked by Mayor Michael Rama to Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias who heads the council Committee on Infrastructure.

Some houses were damaged in barangays Sambag 2, Pulangbato, Taptap, Talamban, Pung-ol Sibugay, Basak Pardo, Basak-San Nicolas, Guadalupe, Kalunasan, Labangon, and Quiot.

Contributing to yesterday's power interruption were damaged electric posts reported in barangays Pit-os, Mabini, San Jose, Talamban, Pamutan, Inayawan, Guadalupe, Kalunasan, Quiot and San Nicolas Proper.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Police Office director Noli Romana said the robbery earlier reported inside Rose Pharmacy in Barangay Capitol Site was a false alarm, pharmacy personnel were just turning away people who were about to enter the pharmacy which was closed due to the typhoon.

Communication

Gillamac said that police operations were hampered yesterday by downed communication lines. He said it was hard to communicate to eight police stations in northern Cebu after transmitters and communication lines were damaged by the strong winds.

Telephone lines were down from Catmon town until Bantayan Island.

He admitted that he did not receive texts from some chiefs of police in some northern Cebu towns.

To monitor damage in northern towns, Gillamac sent a team of policemen headed by Senior Insp. Ruben Verbo, together with Neil Sanchez, of the PDRRMC, and started inspecting Consolacion town onwards.

Gillamac added they are saving their mobile phone batteries for possible updates and other notifications from other police stations.

Based on information from the Cebu Electric Cooperative, the towns of Sibonga, Argao and Dalaguete as well as the city of Carcar have electricity while in northern Cebu only a portion of Balamban town has electricity.

Cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue experienced blackout.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Regional Public Information Office-7 recorded at least 133,425 individuals from 38,990 families who were evacuated to 869 different evacuation centers in the region, mostly in Cebu Province and Cebu City. — Ria Mae Y. Booc, Jessa J. Agua, Kristine B. Quintas, Niña G. Sumacot/BRP (FREEMAN)