Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Saturday he is set to declare a state of calamity in the entire province, following the onslaught of Typhoon Odette that claimed the lives of at least eight Negrenses and displaced more than 93,000 others in the past two days.
“We will be declaring a state of calamity for the whole province. This will be approved (by the Provincial Board) on Tuesday (December 21). What does this mean is, we can use the Quick Response Fund that the local government units can use to address the situation we are facing,” Lacson said in a radio interview.
Among the eight casualties, three have been reported in Moises Padilla town while one each in the municipalities of Manapla, Isabela, Binalbagan as well as in cities of La Carlota and San Carlos.
“Those that I mentioned are only the ones that I can confirm. The rest are not yet confirmed,” the governor said when asked regarding reports that several casualties have also been recorded in Sipalay City.
As of 6 a.m. on Saturday, Lacson said some 93,696 individuals across the province have been evacuated, the majority of whom are in southern Negros, particularly in the sixth district, including areas in Kabankalan City and Ilog town.
“Some of the evacuees have returned home especially those in the north, but in the south, there are still many left in evacuation centers,” he said.
He added that food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development have been distributed to affected residents in La Castellana, Isabela, Moises Padilla, and Ilog towns; and Kabankalan City.
Power restoration activities are ongoing across Negros Occidental, which has been plunged into darkness after electrical lines were toppled by strong winds brought by “Odette” from Thursday night to early Friday morning.
In a statement, the Central Negros Electric Cooperative said the typhoon caused damage to its power lines and its workers are doing their best to restore power in all areas.
The power supply was restored in several areas in the municipality of Murcia and the cities of Talisay, Silay, and Bago on Friday.
The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative said in a Facebook post its personnel are working round-the-clock to fast-track the repair of damaged lines and resume power supply as soon as possible.
As of Saturday, portions of Manapla town and Victorias City are partially energized while the neighboring E.B. Magalona town’s Feeder 2 is also partially restored.
In southern Negros, the hardest-hit in the province, teams of the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative are assessing the damage and will prioritize the repair of 69kv lines to energize the substations, its Director Rolito Espinosa said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Binalbagan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has confirmed that the two missing fishermen from the town’s Barangay Enclaro were rescued off Cauayan town in the afternoon of December 16.
Joevel Tipon, 29; and Noel De la Cruz, 19, who ventured at sea on Dec. 14 were picked up by responders from Binalbagan after receiving information that they were already safe.
Source: Philippines News Agency
