Workers undeterred from repairing Biliran bridge even amid bad weather

Workers are staying true to their round-the-clock repair of the main bridge linking Biliran and mainland Leyte even amid lingering bad weather, according to a report by Bam Alegre on Unang Balita on Friday.

The Department of Public Works and Highways has been given 30 days to finish repairing Caraycaray Bridge, which was damaged by the effects of Tropical Storm Urduja, but reportedly said their target is half that period so it could be reused before the New Year rolls around.

In the absence of the bridge, pedestrians have come up with ways of getting from one river bank to the other: foot ladders, a small makeshift bridge, and boat trips manned by volunteer boatmen for those carrying heavy loads.

The bayanihan spirit also seems alive in the residents who helped each other haul logs and large rocks to form a makeshift bridge in place of the Larrazabal bridge.

There are reportedly no less than 50 casualties in Eastern Visayas due to the onslaught of Urduja, which has since left the country and been followed by Severe Tropical Storm Vinta, now traversing Compostela Valley.

Thirty-eight people remain missing.

Seven of the 29 people, including a police officer and her relatives, feared to have been buried by a landslide in Barangay Lucsoon in Biliran’s Naval town still have not been unearthed due to continued rains that have further softened the soil, making the task all the more daunting for responders.

A body part has reportedly been found, but authorities have not yet counted it among the official tally of those retrieved. —Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/KG, GMA News