from SunStar
MANILA (Updated) — Rescuers plucked bodies from muddy floodwaters and saved drenched survivors from rooftops Sunday after Typhoon Ondoy tore through Luzon and left at least 106 people dead and missing. The death toll caused by Ondoy (international codename: Ketsana) is expected to rise as the country’s capital region struggled Sunday to recover from its worst flooding in 42 years. Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said that soldiers, police and civilian volunteers rescued more than 5,000 people, many of them nervously clinging to each other on roofs and on top of passenger buses. Officials said they hoped the roads would be cleared soon to enable the Department of Health (DOH) and representatives of international groups like the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Program (WFP) to assess the damage and the conditions in evacuation centers. Initial data reaching Malacañang showed about 280,000 individuals affected by Ondoy as of 10 a.m. Sunday, said Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez. Some 8,300 families, or 41,000 individuals, went to evacuation centers. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has put up drop-off points for relief goods and donations in their offices in Quezon City, Legarda in Manila and near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay. Several agencies, groups and local government units in the Visayas and Mindanao are also conducting relief operations to help the victims of the typhoon. The City Government of Davao and Cebu will reportedly donate food and other relief assistance to the flood victims in Luzon. Victims The Associated Press wire agency reported at least 106 persons killed, but without an official list, that number cannot be verified. It said the deaths included 14 villagers buried in a landslide in Pampanga and nine others who drowned in Bulacan. A soldier and four companions drowned while trying to rescue villagers in Laguna. Health Secretary Duque said his main concern is for rescue teams to reach the Amang Rodriguez Hospital in Marikina and attend to the needs of patients there, including those who suffered injuries or ailments stemming from the rains and floods. Some roads in Marikina are still impassable to vehicles and a lot of areas remain submerged.
Class suspension The Department of Education (DepEd) suspended Monday’s classes in the elementary and secondary levels in Metro Manila and the nearby province of Rizal. “Homes and access roads are still flooded while some schools that are not flooded or damaged are being used as evacuation centers for thousands of our kababayan,” Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said. There are about two million elementary and high school students in Metro Manila alone that will be affected by the cancellation of classes. In other areas also reeling from the typhoon, local government officials and school administrators have the discretion to suspend classes depending on the situation, said Lapus. He appealed to the public to “help instill orderliness and care of the evacuation premises and properties” to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Repair Lapus said he also ordered DepEd engineers and technical experts to visit and assess schools damaged by the typhoon so that immediate repair can be done. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of calamity in Metro Manila and in 25 Luzon provinces to speed up the release of calamity funds. Teodoro said the suspension of classes will give local governments a chance to attend to the needs of the affected residents and to start rehabilitation work.
Roads impassable The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said several areas in Metro Manila remain impassable to traffic, particularly light vehicles, as floodwaters are subsiding slowly. MMDA teams reported waist-deep water on J.P. Rizal in Makati, Lacson St. in España near the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila and SM Sucat in Parañaque. Knee-deep water remained in the C-5-Ortigas Junction area, Dela Rosa South Superhighway, Tiendesitas Pasig, Sta. Mesa in Manila and Buendia Taft. On edge MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando said his teams are keeping a close watch on low-lying communities and areas near waterways. In Muntinlupa, Mayor Aldrin San Pedro said he ordered the city’s emergency personnel and the local social welfare department to cope with the estimated 4,000 evacuees from eight barangays, now living in evacuation centers. Three children were reported missing after a swollen river inundated several houses in Sucat Village, San Pedro said. In Parañaque City, Mayor Florencio Bernabe said more than 4,000 residents were also affected by the typhoon. The affected residents were housed in evacuation centers with the local social welfare department providing them food, medicines and clothing. Ondoy, which packed winds of 53 mph (85 kph) with gusts of up to 63 mph (100 kph), hit land early Saturday then roared across the main northern Luzon island toward the South China Sea. Most of the areas in Metro Manila are still without power as of Sunday, but personnel of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said they are working round-the-clock to restore the supply of electricity. “Estimated count of Meralco customers without power as of 2 a.m. Sunday is 1.2 million, or a little over one-fourth of total registered Meralco customers,” said Meralco’s assistant vice president and call center head Alex Evangelista. (JMR/AH/MSN/Sunnex/With AP/Sunnex)
