NDRRMC: Over 2M residents from 12 regions affected by Rolly

More than two million individuals from 12 regions have been affected by Super Typhoon Rolly, according to the latest National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) report.

At a press briefing on Monday, NDRRMC executive director Ricardo Jalad said the total number of individuals affected was at 2,068,085 or 372,653 families as of morning.

These came from Regions I, II, III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, Cordillera Administrative Region and the National Capital Region.

Meanwhile, at least 16 people were reported killed, according to the Office of Civil Defense V. Of the number, 10 were from Albay (Daraga, 1; Guinobatan, 3; Malinao, 2; Oas, 1; Polangui, 1; Tabaco City, 2) while six were from Catanduanes (Gigmoto, 1; Virac, 4; San Miguel, 1).

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, at a press briefing, said three were reported missing. He also said the number of casualties would be higher if local government units did not enforce preemptive evacuation in the areas on Rolly's track.

According to Jalad, a total of 108,555 families or 389,867 people were preemptively evacuated in Regions III, CAR, NCR, CALABARZON, V and VIII.

Jalad said assessment is still ongoing to determine the worth of damages due to Rolly.

Agri, infra damage

Meanwhile, in the same briefing, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said damage to agriculture already amounted to P1.1 billion.

“Most of the commodities that have been badly damaged are rice, corn, high-value crops during this Typhoon Rolly, with almost 20,000 hectares. And about 20,000 farmers as well have been affected,” Dar said.

Dar assured the affected farmers that the government would provide a total of 133,326 bags of rice seeds and 17,545 bags of corn seeds for replanting.

Aside from that, 2,000 kilograms of assorted vegetables will also be provided to hardly-hit regions such as CALABARZON, Bicol and MIMAROPA.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Chief for Operations Police Lieutenant General Cesar Hawthorne Binag, for his part, said 90% of infrastructures in Catanduanes were destroyed.

Binag did not specify which infrastructures were damaged, but according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), the Naga Airport was damaged due to Super Typhoon Rolly, particularly in the airport's passenger terminal building, the administration building, and the vehicular parking area.

The damage to the airport has been estimated at P5.5 million, but flights commenced operations as of Monday, November 2, CAAP said.

Meanwhile, at least 17 roads were non-passable in Catanduanes province and over 53,000 households in parts of Luzon have no electricity so far due to Rolly.

Bicol hardest hit

In Albay province in the Bicol, which appears to be the hardest hit region by Rolly, many roofs were tossed by strong winds in the town of Tiwi, according to Bernadette Reyes' report on Unang Balita.

The ceiling of an airport in Legazpi City collapsed due to strong winds. Many coconut trees were also uprooted.

In the town of Polangui, the glass doors of a mall were shattered, as well as its shelves and ceiling.

A mudflow with strong current hit the area of Camalig, where many houses were submerged in flood.

In Guinobatan, many houses were buried in rocks and mud following a lahar flow from Mayon Volcano. According to Timbal, they are still verifying if all the residents in the lahar-hit community were evacuated.

“Hindi pa po natin ma-determine 'yung ganyang level sa search and rescue,” Timbal said when asked if a retrieval operation is being conducted in the area on the assumption that some residents were buried.

“Kasi so far nang iulat natin to sa Regional DRRMC dyan sa Albay for verification, ang initial response sa atin ay nakapag-evacuate naman doon sa area na 'yun prior to the actual incident ,” he added.

However, Timbal said the NDRRMC is still checking the people in evacuation  centers to confirm that no one stayed in the affected community during the lahar.

“Ang ginagawa po chini-check po ‘yung mga na-evacuate nating mga kababayan kung merong mga naiwan doon sa communities na ‘yun. So far, within the day, we'll be getting updates,” he said.

Roof-deep flood was also experienced in Pio Duran, Iriga City, and Daraga.

According to Saleema Refran's report on Unang Balita, strong winds with heavy rains rocked a hanging bridge in Camaligan, Camarines Sur. 

Some stranded people took shelter in a gas station amid the onslaught of Rolly.

Due to the strong winds, those who tried to walk the street in the middle of the weather disturbance tumbled. Posts and trees fell down, while debris like scrapped iron sheets scattered on the road.

Strongest typhoon

Rolly (international name: Goni) pounded the the Philippines on Sunday, ripping off roofs, toppling power lines and causing flooding in the hardest-hit areas.

Rolly was a "super typhoon" when it made landfall on Catanduanes before dawn on Sunday, packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 225 kilometers (140 miles) per hour and dumping heavy rain across the region.

The strongest typhoon of the year, it was downgraded a few hours later as it swept across Luzon and reduced intensity as it skirted the capital Manila and headed out to the West Philippine Sea where it was downgraded to tropical storm.

Catanduanes and Albay provinces bore the brunt of Rolly's ferocious winds, which state weather forecaster PAGASA had warned earlier could cause "catastrophic" damage. —KBK, GMA News