MANILA (UCAN): Typhoon Doksuri hit the northern Philippines on its way to China and Taiwan.
Caritas-Philippines mobilised donations to send to the stricken areas, especially for those people staying in evacuation sites.
It reported on its website that 291,929 families were impacted with 241 reported floodings and 14 landslides. Sixteen people were reported dead, 52 injured and 20 missing as of July 29.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the typhoon caused US$34 million of damage as at July 29, CNN Philippines reported.
Known locally as Typhoon Egay, the storm had severe maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour and heavy rain pounded.
The Philippines weather agency, PAGASA, had warned of “violent, life-threatening conditions” on July 26.
In the northern province of Isabela, a woman selling bread rolls died after she was hit by a falling coconut tree on July 26, according to provincial disaster official, Constante Foronda. A 16-year-old boy was crushed to death when a landslide struck a house in the mountain city of Baguio, said city disaster official, Julius Santos.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the typhoon caused US$34 million of damage as at July 29, CNN Philippines reported
Some 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Cagayan province, including 431 in the Babuyan islands, following warnings of three-metre storm surges, Cagayan disaster official, Ruelie Rapsing, reported.
Dalupiri is one of the five islands that make up the tiny Babuyan archipelago.
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Widespread flooding and power cuts were reported in the north of Luzon, while landslides blocked key arteries in its mountainous interior.
About 1,500 people were also evacuated from coastal communities in neighbouring Isabela, Foronda said.
Cagayan resident, Salvador Frias, said classes and workplaces were cancelled “but now we have no more roof because the typhoon has shredded it like paper.”
The 43-year-old Frias recounted that he and his son were “supposed to tie ropes at the edges but it was too late. We also thought of our safety.” Frias and his family have been sheltering in a local parish church.
The mishap on July 27 was attributed to overcrowding by the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority [MARINA] while also raising questions about how the vessel was allowed to sail in inclement weather.
The priests “gave us a room to stay. We slept on the floor, but we were comfortable. We ate noodles and eggs, so our tummies are full… but I kept on thinking of our house. I hope no one will steal our refrigerator and TV,” he said.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported over 4,000 passengers stranded in the ports who need food and bedding. Reports also said hundreds were stranded in airports after the government cancelled all flights.
“Unlike those in airports, passengers of ferries have no access to hotels, so they needed to stay in ports and suffered the inconvenience,” coast guard officer, Carlo Ruiz, said.
Ruiz said stranded passengers stood long hours as ports were not designed to handle such a large number of passengers.
“I was awake for 48 hours because there’s no place where I could sleep here… plus I needed to stay awake for my luggage not to be stolen,” ferry passenger, Darwin Cerelos, recounted.
Unlike those in airports, passengers of ferries have no access to hotels, so they needed to stay in ports and suffered the inconvenience
A wooden ferry, the Princess Aya, capsized leaving around 30 passengers dead while 40 passengers were rescued in Laguna Bay, Rizal province.
The mishap on July 27 was attributed to overcrowding by the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority [MARINA] while also raising questions about how the vessel was allowed to sail in inclement weather.
“The vessel was overcrowded which contributed to the number of deaths,” MARINA official and investigator, Jocelyn de Dios, said at a press conference on July 27.
The Archdiocese of Lipa, Batangas, extended aid to the victims’ families in the form of groceries and financial assistance.
“This isn’t much, but more than church aid we hope that truth and justice shall prevail,” Archbishop Gilbert Garcera said.
“We have already sent cash donations to some parishes hosting our brothers and sisters who experienced the wrath of the typhoon. Let us focus on securing their lives first, then their homes,” Caritas chief, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, said.
Father Don Gonzales, the parish priest of Abulug Church in Cagayan province, turned his church and its facilities into an evacuation centre for some 400 people.
