Broken bridges, debris, mud hindering Biliran rescue ops —official

Efforts to reach communities affected by Tropical Depression Urduja in Biliran province were hampered by broken bridges, debris, and mud, Biliran town Mayor Grace Casil told Balitanghali on Monday.

"Sa ngayon, mataas pa rin 'yung bundok kasi hindi pa naki-clear 'yung mga daanan. In fact, hindi pa makadaan 'yung Biliran to Tacloban. At the same time, Biliran to Naval, 'yung proper province of Biliran," Casil said.

"'Yung tulay, nasira, kaya hindi maka-tawid yung equipment."

Rescue teams from Tacloban arrived in Biliran on Monday morning to help in emergency operations as the local government started distributing food supplies to evacuees.

"Ngayon, walang pagkain talaga at tubig," Casil said. "Though 'yung bayan ko may water na, 'yung mga barangay wala, hinahatiran pa namin ng pagkain at tsaka tubig."

Rescue and retrieval operations were ongoing in the town of Almeria for residents reportedly trapped under landslides, the report said.

An update from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 46 people were missing and 26 were killed due to Urduja as of Monday noon. All are from Eastern Visayas.

Casil said the local government and crisis groups did their best to evacuate the province but encountered trouble with locals who believed Urduja's relatively weak winds would not necessitate evacuation.

"We did our best to evacuate, Wednesday pa lang, pero alam mo na. 'Yung mga tao talaga, kinukumpara nila 'yung damage sa Yolanda, hindi naman gaanong ka-devastated 'yung town namin," Casil said.

"'Yung mga tao ayaw talagang lumikas, kaya maski may forced evacuation na, pulis na 'yung nandoon, ayaw pa rin."

Office of Civil Defense Region 8 Director Edgar Posadas said in an interview on News To Go on Monday that residents were sufficiently warned about Urduja but did not go along with preemptive evacuations as the storm did not have the same effects as Yolanda. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News