MANILA, Philippines — The reported death toll due to Typhoon Odette rose to 326 while the tally of injured persons climbed to 661, the country’s disaster agency on Friday said.
Of these, 14 deaths have been confirmed, while 312 are still for validation, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in its situation report.
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The province of Bohol reported the highest death toll of 96, followed by Negros Oriental with 66 dead, Cebu with 58, Surigao del Norte with 27, Southern Leyte reported 22 fatalities, Dinagat Islands with 21 and Palawan had 18 reported deaths.
Fatalities were also reported in Iloilo (1), Guimaras (2), Negros Occidental (1), Leyte (1), Bukidnon (1), Misamis Occidental (1), Misamis Oriental (4), Butuan City (1), and Agusan del Sur (6).
The number of reported injured persons also rose to 661, with two so far confirmed.
The agency also received reports of 58 missing persons and have so far confirmed four.
Odette, which pummeled central Philippines a week before Christmas, has affected more than 3.38 million people or 870,334 families from the regions of Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, Caraga and BARMM.
Of these, 352,384 individuals or 83,903 are displaced to the government’s 1,497 evacuation centers. Some 277,050 persons or 77,436 families opted to stay with their relatives or friends.
More than 100 localities still with no power
There were 273 municipalities or cities that reported power interruption or outage. Electricity supply has been restored in 149 localities, leaving 124 towns that may celebrate Christmas without power.
Odette’s destructive winds and triggered flash floods also flattened and totally destroyed 120,486 houses, while 228,156 houses in 10 regions were reported as partially damaged.
Damage on agriculture is estimated at P2.03 billion, with 30,351.35 hectares of crop area affected by Odette. The cost of damage to fisheries in the regions is estimated at P810 million.
The agency also reported nearly P3.99 billion in infrastructure damage incurred due to the destructive typhoon.
The Philippine government has so far declared State of Calamity in 343 localities in six regions.
Assistance given to affected communities is at P68.12 million, while foreign governments pledging to send aid to the Philippines also continue to rise. — Kristine Joy Patag