The bullet, locally known as Rolly, hit the Manila region late Sunday but left 125 cities and towns without electricity. About 2 million people were on the way to the storm, which came on the heels of two other hurricanes and the country is struggling in the worst situation in the region. Corona virus Erupted.
The death toll rose to 20 on Monday as residents began cleaning up. Most were in the province of Elbe, where mud and rocks flowed from below Mayon Volcano Ginobaton buried the village of San Francisco, inside the city.
“My family fled just before the storm,” said Hazel Orpia Panesa, a 19-year-old student in the area who has since been hunted at a relative’s site. “Others in our neighborhood didn’t go, so some of them are dead, and their bodies are still missing.”
Herbert Oko, another 18-year-old student in the city, said when he left his home after the storm, he was blocked by local trains and the train was mired in mud.
“I saw the bodies being buried, their hands out,” he said, adding that he started a donation campaign on Facebook for a home classmate and a class who had lost all their belongings.
As of Monday, many of the estimated 389,000 evacuees across the country were housed in relocation centers in churches, courts and schools – regular protocols that now come with a second level of fear due to the coronavirus epidemic. Health officials reminded people to follow social distance and hygiene guidelines, which can prove difficult in this usually crowded system.
President Rodrigo Duarte arrived in the province of Albe on Monday, facing criticism from public opinion for his absence when the hurricane spread over the weekend. Local reports quoted former presidential aide-turned-senator Bang Goon as saying Durt would order an investigation into the apparent mine around the volcano, which some locals feared the flooding had worsened.
Duarte also lashed out at critics and they wondered where he was. He said he went to the city claiming to honor the dead for All Souls Day. “I was waiting for the storm to pass, then I flew [of Davao], “He said.” Those who say I’m not here, what’s the problem? “
Officials were also concerned about the hard-hit island province of C andndiz, which could not be reached due to phone lines being downed and its airport tower not responding. Photos that came out of the damage Broken poles, rotten trees and Destroy houses. A national government team has been dispatched to the area.
As many as 700 vehicles and heavy equipment, as well as 4,000 troops were deployed to clear the roads. Several bridges were destroyed, including one Divide in half After the river overflowed, according to local reports. Other roads were inaccessible due to debris, floods and landslides.
The initial agricultural loss estimate was 22 million, but the Department of Agriculture said about 600,000 acres of rice have been saved.
Since many affected communities are still out of reach, it may take several days for the damage to take shape. But a relatively low initial death toll compared to previous storms could lead to an improvement in the Philippine disaster response.
John Leo Algo, secretary of the Climate Change Lobby Network Action Climate Philippines, noted the sharp sense of awareness in the Filipino after hitting Hayan seven years ago.
The warnings have been communicated as the weather- and climate-monitoring system has improved, he said. In 2013, many locals did not understand the warning of a “hurricane wrap” – and later compared Haiyan’s effects to a tsunami.
“These terms are amended when it comes to localization,” Elgo said.
The Philippines is no stranger to tropical cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Considered very sensitive The effects of climate change
Still, there were blind spots in Gony’s way to spread emergency information to the public – especially the absence of broadcaster ABS-CBN, which Ordered to close earlier this year Critics saw it as a politically motivated attack on press freedom. The media, which broadcast on television and radio, reached millions of people and reported in regional languages, making it a major base for remote rural communities.
Danilo Arroyo, an associate professor of journalism at Diliman University in the Philippines, said the broadcaster’s presence was missed. “ABS-CBN was the only TV station to reach certain parts of the country,” he said. On Twitter.
Oko, a student raising funds in Albe, said his family had previously relied on ABS-CBN for a blah-blah-blah-up-update of the typhoons. Now, he and others in his city must turn to social media – which can be unreliable when the lines of communication are down.
“Now, you can only find people who need help on Facebook,” he said.
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