20 dead in Negros Occidental due to Typhoon Tino

At least 20 persons died in Negros Occidental following the onslaught of Typhoon Tino, according to data from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

Based on the report by GMA Regional TV’s Adrian Prietos in “24 Oras” on Wednesday, the casualties were from the 29 localities in Negros Occidental that experienced the typhoon’s wrath, affecting over 1,000 residents.

“Some were swept away by the water, which is mostly the reason for the deaths. We already deployed people to conduct search, rescue, and retrieval operations,” said Negros Occidental PDRRMO spokesperson Baryll Larry Sañor in the vernacular.

Typhoon Tino reportedly caused extreme flooding in the province.

In Canlaon City, for instance, even a huge truck was not spared from the raging floodwater. Several homes and establishments were also submerged.

When the floodwater subsided, the city was left with muddy roads and huge boulders washed down from the Kanlaon Volcano.

Personal tragedies amid the calamity

The flood and muddy roads did not stop residents from carrying the coffins of the dead.

In a barangay in La Castellana, residents mourned after seeing the bodies of their loved ones on the roadside.

Vicente De Guirra lost his wife to the calamity, while his three children, including a nine-month-old infant, remain missing.

“I clung on to a tree,” he recalled. “We were supposed to evacuate to my in-law's house because their house is uphill. But we did not make it.”

Meanwhile, Aguinaldo Villar’s four-year-old daughter was rescued. However, four of their relatives are also missing.

MDRRMO team leader Romeo Relator said that some victims were pinned by trees while others were covered in mud.

“We cannot do anything, because we did not expect the water to be that high,” he said.—Vince Angelo Ferreras/MCG, GMA Integrated News