‘People were ready’

Children wade in a flooded portion of barangay Poblacion in Daanbantayan town in northern Cebu as residents return to their homes. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

The minimal number of casualties and the orderly evacuation of people averted what could have been another catastrophe.

This was the initial assessment of Cebu’s so-called “disaster czar” as the skies cleared yesterday a day after typhoon Ruby (international name: Hagupit) wrought havoc in the Visayas and the Bicol region as it made its way to Luzon over the weekend.

“I hope the momentum will continue. If this is maintained, I can say that people will be able to create a culture with no room for complacency,” Baltazar Tribunalo, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said.

The Cebu Provincial Board placed the province under a state of calamity following the devastation of typhoon Ruby over the weekend.

The declaration which was contained in a resolution was unanimously approved during the PB’s  regular session yesterday.
The calamity declaration now authorizes the provincial government to disburse the remaining P73 million balance of its calamity fund.

Provincial budget officer Danilo Rodas P30 million will be used as quick response fund while P43 million would be set aside for disaster preparedness.

“We still haven’t received any reports from the towns. Maybe they are still evaluating,” he told reporters yesterday.

Rodas said the calamity fund was intact despite the passing of the previous storm, Queenie, where the southern portion of the province was placed under a state of calamity.

Cebu recorded two deaths when Ruby  crossed Eastern Visayas, the Bicol and Southern Tagalog regions over the weekend. Heavy rains and powerful winds buffeted by the storm affected many parts of northern Cebu which is near Masbate where Ruby made landfall Sunday.

The Philippine Red Cross has recorded at least 21 people killed, 16 of which from Borongan, Eastern Samar where Ruby had its first landfall Saturday while the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has so far placed the casualty count at two. Both tallies did not include the two Cebu deaths.

According to the PDRRMC, the two casualties include a 60-year-old man from Bogo City identified only as Baring who was suspected to have died of hypothermia and 14-year-old boy Jimmy Saldo Cardente from Malabuyoc town who got electrocuted.

Despite the casualty count, Tribunalo praised local officials for their heightened preparedness. He said the deaths were not really related to the LGUs’ preparation efforts.

“When we say preparedness, we really account for everything and everyone,” he told reporters yesterday.

Towns and cities started evacuating residents since Thursday or a day before Ruby made its first landfall. Officials noted that the “Yolanda experience” made it easy for them to convince people to follow instructions for them to move to safety.

“This has to be appreciated and praised. Daygon nato aron sa sunod, monindot pa siya (It has to be appreciated, hopefully next time, it would even be better),” Tribunalo said.

Damage assessment is still ongoing province-wide. Teams have been sent on a 72-hour rapid assessment to both the north and southern portions of the province.

The 12 towns and a city in the north, which bore the brunt of Ruby, were given priority in damage assessment and distribution of relief. The affected areas include Tabogon, Bogo City, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, the three towns on Bantayan Island, and the four towns on Camotes Island.

Powerlines lie on the highway in Medellin town. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

The provincial government yesterday sent three trucks loaded with 150 sacks of rice and 150 sacks of pre-packed relief goods to Bantayan islands to augment supplies in evacuation centers following reports that food stocks were already running low
Provincial information officer Ethel Natera said the relief packs contained rice, noodles and canned sardines.

Daanbantayan Mayor Augusto Corro said they will immediately send relief goods to the affected families.

The municipal government has yet to finish its initial damage assessment but Corro said the storm’s impact on housing was minimal compared to the damage on agriculture.

Most of the banana trees in Daanbantayan bowed down to Ruby’s gusts which lasted for more than 20 hours from Saturday to Sunday.
He said the only “major damage” on infrastructure was sustained by their newly-repaired sports complex. The structure lost two to three roofing panels. Corro pegged the damage at P300,000 to P500,000 for the complex alone.

In Malapascua island, at least 12 outrigger boats  (banca) were swept away by strong waves.

Raul Arriesgado checks his fishing boat after typhoon Ruby’s onslaught in sitio Mahayahay barangay Poblacion, Daanbantayan. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO )

For houses are damaged in sitio Mahayahay, barangay Poblacion, Daanbantayan, after a tree failed to withstand typhoon Ruby’s ferocious wind. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)

“On the houses, some lost one to three roofing sheets. It was not as severe as Yolanda,” said Mayor Corro.

All of the 16,000 evacuees in the town’s 86 evacuation centers have already returned to their homes, said Corro.

Gov. Hilario Davide III visited the town yesterday morning and delivered 30 sacks of relief goods.

Corro said they did not run low on food for the evacuees since the residents were instructed to bring their own food good for at least their first day of stay.

Related Stories:

Images of Cebuano preparedness