Thread: Rescuers battle strong typhoon lashing southern Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful typhoon slammed into the southeastern Philippines on Thursday, toppling trees, ripping tin roofs and knocking down power as it blew across island provinces where nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated.


Coast coast guard personnel were rescuing residents stranded by chest-deep waters in a southern province, where pounding rains swamped villages in brownish water. In southern Cagayan de Oro city, footage showed two rescuers struggling to keep a month-old baby inside a laundry basin above the waters and shielded from the wind and rain with an umbrella.


Forecasters said Typhoon Rai further strengthened with sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 270 kph (168 mph) as it blew from the Pacific Ocean into the Siargao Islands. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.


“I’m scared and praying here in my house that this stops now. The wind outside is so strong it’s cutting down trees,” Teresa Lozano, a resident of eastern MacArthur town in coastal Leyte province, told DZMM radio by telephone, adding roofs of nearby houses were damaged and that her farming village had lost power.


Disaster-response officials said about 10,000 villages lie in the projected path of the typhoon, which has a 400-kilometer (248-mile)-wide rain band and is one of the strongest to hit the country this year.


The coast guard said it has grounded all vessels, stranding nearly 4,000 passengers and ferry and cargo ship workers in dozens of southern and central ports. Several mostly domestic flights have been canceled and schools and workplaces were shut in the most vulnerable areas.


More than 98,000 people have been evacuated to safety, the government’s disaster-response agency said. Crowding in evacuation centers was complicating efforts to keep people safely distanced after authorities detected the country’s first infections caused by the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Intensified vaccinations were also halted in provinces likely to experience stormy weather.


The Philippines is among the hardest-hit in Southeast Asia by the pandemic, with confirmed infections of more than 2.8 million and more than 50,000 deaths. Quarantine restrictions have been eased and more businesses have been allowed to reopen in recent weeks after an intensified vaccination campaign helped reduce infections to a few hundred from more than 26,000 in September. The detection of the omicron cases this week, however, has set off the alarm and the government renewed calls for people to avoid crowds and get vaccinated immediately.


Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar province said he suspended vaccinations in his region of nearly half a million people due to the typhoon. More than 70% of villagers in the province have gotten at least one shot, and Evardone expressed concern because some vaccines stored in Eastern Samar will expire in a few months.


Overcrowding is unavoidable, he said, in the limited number of evacuation centers in his province, where more than 32,000 people have been moved to safety.


“It’s impossible to observe social distancing, it will really be tough,” Evardone told The Associated Press. “What we do is we cluster evacuees by families. We don’t mix different people in the same place as a precaution.”


About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago is also located in the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire” region, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.


Rescuers battle strong typhoon lashing southern Philippines | Taiwan News | 2021-12-16 19:21:49

75 reported dead after Typhoon Odette batters Visayas, Mindanao — officials


MANILA, Philippines – At least 75 people have been reported killed in the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, official tallies showed Sunday, as efforts to deliver water and food to devastated islands ramped up.


More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Typhoon Rai ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago.


ADVERTISEMENT


The storm knocked out communications and electricity in many areas, ripping off roofs and toppling concrete power poles.


Arthur Yap, governor of the popular tourist destination Bohol, said on his official Facebook page that mayors on the devastated island had reported 49 deaths in their towns.


That took the overall number of reported deaths to 75, according to the latest official figures.

Yap said 10 people were still missing on the island and 13 were injured after the storm smashed into the country Thursday as a super typhoon packing wind speeds of 195 kilometres (120 miles) per hour.

“Communications are still down. Only 21 mayors out of 48 have reached out to us,” Yap said, raising fears the death toll could rise in the flood-hit province.


Thousands of military, police, coast guard and fire personnel are being deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts in the worst-affected areas.


A Philippine Navy ship carrying goods and other relief would depart for Bohol on Monday, Yap said, after he earlier declared a state of calamity on the island.


There has also been widespread destruction on Siargao, Dinagat and Mindanao islands, which bore the brunt of Rai when it slammed into the Philippines.

Aerial photos shared by the military showed severe damage in the Siargao town of General Luna, where many surfers and holidaymakers had flocked ahead of Christmas, with buildings stripped of roofs and debris littering the ground.


Dinagat Governor Arlene Bag-ao said Saturday the damage to the island’s landscape was “reminiscent if not worse” than that caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.



Haiyan, which is called Yolanda in the Philippines, was the deadliest cyclone on record in the country, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing.


Rai’s wind speeds eased to 150 kph as it barrelled across the country, dumping torrential rain that inundated villages, uprooting trees and shattering wooden structures.


It emerged over the South China Sea on Saturday and headed towards Vietnam.


The Philippines — ranked one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change — is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, which typically wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure in already impoverished areas.


75 reported dead after Typhoon Odette batters Visayas, Mindanao -- officials | Inquirer News

Death Toll from Typhoon Rai in the Philippines Jumps to 375

On Monday, the death toll from Typhoon Rai to hit the Philippines has surged to 375, as survivors desperately pleaded for drinking water and food.


In coastal areas, the Philippine Red Cross reported “complete carnage” after Super Typhoon Rai tore apart homes, hospitals, and schools.

During the storm, roofs were torn off, trees were uprooted, concrete power poles were flipped over, wooden houses were smashed, crops were destroyed, and villages were flooded.


According to the latest reports, 375 people have been killed and 56 are still missing amid the latest disaster to devastate the archipelago, with 500 people injured as well, the Red Cross reported.


In the wake of the storm, more than 380,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts.

Bohol, known for its beaches, “Chocolate Hills” and tarsier primate population, was among the hardest-hit islands, where 94 people have died, Governor Arthur Yap announced on Facebook.

Ubay, the coastal town in Bohol, is in a state of calamity, with many wooden houses flattened and fishing boats destroyed.


Despite already struggling in the tourism sector due to Covid-19 restrictions, the storm has dealt a deadly blow.


A road near General Luna, a tourist town on Siargao Island, has been painted with “SOS.” as people struggle to find water and food ahead of Christmas.

The wind speeds of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour) brought heavy damage to Dinagat and Mindanao islands as well as Siargao. The Dinagat Islands had at least 14 fatalities.


The military, police, coast guard, and fire departments deployed tens of thousands of personnel along with food, water, and medical supplies, and heavy equipment — including backhoes and front-end loaders — was used to clear roads.


Duterte promised to find another two billion pesos ($40 million) in aid, which is double the amount he previously pledged.

Death Toll from Typhoon Rai in the Philippines Jumps to 375 - News

Hi Katie.
I have a very good friend who recently moved to Cebu area. I heard the ‘State of Calamity’ has also been declared there too.
Nothing heard from him since 10th of December when we last exchanged messages.
Any advice or links you can suggest to locate him please?

Thanks Katie. He is not on Mactan, but I’m not sure which part of Cebu he is staying at. He’s a fairly new arrival, still finding his feet there, even though he has a brand new retirement visa. Did his quarantine in Manila, had his medical for the visa and he’s been in Cebu are for about a week.
Hes a fairly resilient and well organized guy, just not sure where he is, and what condition he is in right now.

We both knew of the weather dangers associated with PI but I was surprised at the length of time it can take to get life up and running again.
Thanks for the tips and links. I will follow that advice.

Originally Posted by katie23

^Hi Switch, yes Cebu City + province is also under the state of calamity. Having that designation means that govt funds/ resources can be deployed faster to those areas.

Do you know if your friend lives in Cebu or Mactan island? If in the city or in a rural area? As I've said in a former post, many areas still don't have electricity, water, cell signal so communications may be tough. For rural areas, it may take months to get power back, since they're prioritizing getting power back in the cities. For supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) back in 2013, it took ~6 months to get power back (in some areas).

Re: searching for him, you could try FB expat groups (I think there are PH & Cebu expat groups). You can also try forums such as expat forum PH or expat exchange PH.

If/ when you're able to contact him, advise him to transfer to another area/ island if he can't handle the difficulties/ inconvenience and if his circumstances allow it ($$). I've seen some expat vloggers change locations last week - because they need power/ internet for their work or online business.

Here's a vlog of a young UK expat. AFAIK he's married to a Filipina, is on a 13A (marriage) visa & they have a fish farm somewhere in rural Mindanao. He happened to be in Cebu city during the typhoon but has since gone back to his province/ home. He can speak the Cebuano/ Bisaya dialect, so kudos to him for that.

Thats Kumander daot. A jovial Welsh guy. I enjoy his vlogs . And funny to hear bisaya with a Welsh accent. Watched the vlogs about siargao to. Cant believe the devestation

Originally Posted by katie23

^Oh, so he availed of the SRRV (retirement visa). The PH govt changed the rules a few months ago & people could now start the SRRV process from abroad. Prior to that, one could only apply in-country.

I hope you will be able to contact your friend. If he's still in a hotel or Airbnb flat, then he's probably on a daily or weekly rate. If he hasn't placed a downpayment/ deposit on a flat, then you could advice or suggest to transfer to Iloilo or Bacolod city, if he still wants to be in the islands. Those cities weren't hit much by the typhoon & life is fairly normal. Topper lives in Bacolod. If he wants farther south, then General Santos city or Davao City - those weren't affected much either.

In some vlogs, I've heard that there's price gouging already, due to scarcity of food/ water supplies.

Re: getting utilities running, last 2014 (Typhoon Glenda), my area was hit badly. We didn't have power for 1 week. My office has its own generator, so our operations weren't affected. However, in my subdivision (mooban), we didn't have power. The water pump is ran by electricity, so we didn't have water either. When our stored water was depleted, my neighbours & I fetched water from the artesian well of a neighbour who graciously opened their gates (and well) for us. My area is ~near Manila, so it was in the priority zone. If you live in rural areas, expect longer waiting time.

That's why people or expats (who have the means) buy their own generator. Davis has one.

I hope you'll be able to contact your friend.

He did initiate the visa application in UK originally. He did his mandatory quarantine in Manila, then finalized his application. He’s been staying with a friend locally in the Cebu region.
We we’re just chatting about moving his GBP from UK using transferwise, then the weather turned very bad, and nothing heard since.
Knowing his back story as very unhappy, he’s probably secretly pleased to be off the grid for a while!

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

Thats Kumander daot. A jovial Welsh guy. I enjoy his vlogs . And funny to hear bisaya with a Welsh accent. Watched the vlogs about siargao to. Cant believe the devestation

Cheers for the input BLD. Hope you are keeping well.

@takeovers - the vlogger Paolo Rigotti lives in Tagbilaran, but his parents live in Dimiao town. (His vids are in English, if you're interested.) I watch his vlogs sometimes and it was through his vids that I saw the devastation in Bohol. I've visited Bohol & Panglao once, and I'm sorry to see the destruction there. Same goes for Cebu, Southern Leyte, Dinagat, Siargao etc. Many areas still without power, water & cell/ internet signal.

@switch - I hope your friend is OK. Lack of power is bearable, but lack of water is tough! Accdg to the vid of Kumander Daot (the one of Cebu), there are long lines for drinking water, ATM & gasoline.

@switch - out of topic, but just curious. What kind of visa do you have in Bali/ Indonesia? Also, do you live in a self-contained apartment/ house or is it in one of those villas with own room but shared kitchen/ dining + swimming pool? I've seen some young vloggers in that type of accoms (shared villa). Thanks!

Originally Posted by katie23

@switch - out of topic, but just curious. What kind of visa do you have in Bali/ Indonesia? Also, do you live in a self-contained apartment/ house or is it in one of those villas with own room but shared kitchen/ dining + swimming pool? I've seen some young vloggers in that type of accoms (shared villa). Thanks!

I have lived in a 3 bedroom shared pool villa for the last two years. I’m on a renewable retirement visa. I moved here for socialization reasons, because I was getting to be a bit of a hermit living alone, on the outskirts of Sanur.
I arrived just before the pandemic started and got on well with my housemates, all about 20 years younger than me. When Covid struck, they buggered off to Australia and Canada, and the leaseholder went back to his mining engineer job in Kazakhstan. I stayed on, alone because it was such a good deal for me and I liked the area.
Im referred to by the leaseholder as his ‘villa manager’ �� and I see him for about 3 weeks every 6 months. It’s a bit symbiotic in a mutually beneficial way, and I have no complaints. I have made some good friends locally but I don’t need to go out much. I got both AZ shots free due to my visa status.
Im better off than most, especially Indonesians employed in the predominant tourist industry. There are over 1000 expats here, mostly retired folk like me, and enough restaurants and small businesses still plodding on.

It seems my mate was living on Mactan when the typhoon hit! Still nothing heard.

^thanks for the answers. Villa Manager - that's a nice gig & title! The pool must be handy if you want daily swimming/ exercise.

Re: Mactan, I've seen several YT vids of local vloggers. It was hit badly - I saw some windows of condo units shattered by the wind. Still no power/ water in most areas. I hope your friend (and his friends) are OK.

*****

For those who didn't watch the vid of Kumander Daot (the young UK expat), in the vid he interviewed one of his friends who's also married to a Filipina. They have a baby & live in their own concrete house, so they're relatively OK. The other guy said that it's good that they have their own artesian well ("poso") and they now shower outside. Their neighbours also come to their house to get water from their well. In times of calamity like this, having an old fashioned well is a blessing.