Typhoon “Ruby” (international codename: “Hagupit”) knocked out power
in entire coastal provinces, mowed down trees and power lines, and sent
more than 650,000 people into shelters, but Filipinos emerged wiser from
last year’s devastation by super-typhoon “Yolanda” (“Haiyan”) and
reckoned with the storm as it weakened yesterday, leaving no major
damage or big casualty figures.
Ruby slammed into Dolores town in Eastern Samar late Saturday and
lost strength as it barreled westward across a string of island
provinces. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per
hour and gusts of 170 kph, considerably weaker from its peak power but
still a potentially deadly storm, according to forecasters.
Reports yet to be verified by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said four people had died directly related to Ruby’s onslaught.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
(PAGASA) said that typhoon Ruby has slightly weakened with maximum
sustained winds of 160 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 190
kph and is forecasted to move west northwest at 15 kph.
PAGASA Weather forecaster Jori Loiz said at 8am yesterday the eye of
typhoon Ruby was located at 70 kilometers west northwest of Catbalongan
or 85 kilometers southwest of Masbate City.
Between Saturday and today (Monday) typhoon Ruby made six landfalls
in Dolores, Eastern Samar (Saturday, between 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.); Masbate
province (Sunday, between 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.); Sibuyan Island (Sunday,
between 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.); Romblon (Sunday, between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.);
Tablas Island (Sunday, between 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and Oriental Mindoro
(Monday, between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
PAGASA said there are 48 areas still under public storm warning signal (PSWS).
The areas under signal number 3 (winds of 101 to 185 kph) include
Romblon, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate, Burias
Island and Ticao Island in Luzon; Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar
province, Leyte and Biliran in the Visayas.
Those under signal number 2 (winds of 61 to 100 kph) include Laguna,
Batangas, Camarines Norte, Southern Quezon, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro
and Occidental Mindoro in Luzon; Northern Antique, Aklan, Semirara
group of islands, Capiz, Northern Iloilo, Northern Cebu including Cebu
City, Bantayan and Camotes Island and Southern Leyte in the Visayas.
Traumatized by super-typhoon “Yolanda’s massive death and destruction
last year in the central region that’s being partly whipped by Ruby,
more than 650,000 people readily fled to about 1,000 emergency shelters
and safer ground.
“At this point it’s good news, we do not have reports of validated,
verified and confirmed figures on casualties either in deaths or
injuries,” NDRRMC executive director Alexander Pama said in a press
briefing.
“Alam naman po natin, sigurado naman yan merong mga nasugatan but as
of this hour we don’t have reports of confirmed and validated
casualties,” he added.
NDRRMC spokesperson Mina Marasigan, on the other hand, attributed
this (reports on zero casualties so far), to prompt government action in
implementing preemptive evacuation in areas expected to be hit by Ruby.
In Iloilo, three people reportedly died and three fishermen were reported missing.
According to Jerry Bionat, executive director of Iloilo Provincial
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), 65-year-old
Ernesto Baylon of Estancia and one-year-old Thea Rojo of Balasan both
died of hypothermia while Jenelyn Castor of Ajuy town died of eclampsia.
Rojo came from the evacuation center and brought to the hospital where
she died while Baylon and the others died in their houses.
Department of Health Acting Secretary Janette Garin said there were
no casulaties who died in evacuation centers. She also mentioned of one
who died of heart attack in the midst of typhoon Ruby.
Lt. Commander Dominador Senador III, Iloilo commander of Philippine
Coast Guard (PCG-Iloilo), said three fishermen are missing off the coast
of Concepcion town.
In Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte, a miner was killed after a mining
tunnel collapsed as heavy rains started to fall late Friday in Sitio
Seron, Barangay Del Pilar. Local police identified the fatality as Omar
Curantao Lumendas, 38.
Data released by the NDRRMC indicated that 192,951 families or
902,321 individuals in typhoon affected provinces are beingserved inside
and outside evacuation centers.
Western Samar had the biggest number of evacuees, with 54.545 families or 272,725 persons.
In Southern Leyte, reports reaching the NDRRC operations center
indicate that 2,352 families or 11,760 persons have been evacuated.
The total number of evacuees, however, could reach one million as
latest information from Sorsogon showed that 51,495 families or 229,865
persons from the province have fled their homes because of Ruby. NDRRMC
figures placed the number of evacuees in Sorsogon at only 1,022 families
or 5,144 persons as of Sunday morning.
Power outages were reported in at least 83 areas in regions 4A, 6, and 8.
The government, backed by the 120,000-strong military, launched massive preparations to attain a zero-casualty target.
“It’s too early to tell,” Philippine Red Cross Secretary-General
Gwendolyn Pang told The Associated Press (AP). “Let’s cross our fingers
that it will stay that way. It’s too close to Christmas.”
Nearly a dozen countries led by the United States and the European
Union have pledged to help in case of a major disaster,
disaster-response agency chief Alexander Pama said.
Authorities were verifying reports of some deaths but none has been confirmed so far, Pama told a news conference.
While authorities have expressed relief so far, they were quick to
warn that RubyHagupit was still on course to barrel across three major
central islands before starting to blow away Tuesday into the South
China Sea.
Several typhoon-lashed eastern villages isolated by downed telephone
and power lines were out of contact, Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman
said.
In Tacloban city, where Haiyan’s tsunami-like storm surges and killer
winds left thousands of people dead and leveled entire villages, no
deaths have been reported after it was grazed by Hagupit.
Television footage showed shallow floods, damaged shanties and ripped
off store signs and tin roofs Sunday, but the city of more than 200,000
people, which earned the pity of the world after last year’s
devastation, appeared to have escaped any major damage.
Rhea Estuna, a 29-year-old mother of one, fled to a Tacloban
evacuation center as early as Thursday and waited in fear as Hagupit’s
wind and rains lashed the school, where she and her family sought
refuge. When she peered outside Sunday, she said she saw a starkly
different aftermath compared to the horror of Haiyan’s aftermath.
“There were no bodies scattered on the road, no big mounds of
debris,” Estuna told AP by cellphone. “Thanks to God this typhoon wasn’t
as violent.”
Army troops deployed to supermarkets and major roads in provinces in
the typhoon’s path to prevent looting and chaos and clear debris, all of
which slowed the government’s response last year.
Unlike in past years, many people readily left high-risk communities now, Soliman said.
“Yolanda was the best teacher of all,” Soliman said. “People did not
need much convincing to move to safety. In fact many of them volunteered
to go.”
In Manila, President Aquino has ordered authorities to ensure a
steady supply of food and other relief assistance in places affected by
typhoon Ruby while keeping them on high alert until the powerful storm
has passed.
The President also appealed to the public to remain calm and vigilant
as Ruby pounds other parts of the country, according to his deputy
spokeswoman Abigail Valte.
“The national government continues to be on alert and is constantly
monitoring both the ground situation and supply coordination efforts,”
Valte said over government radio.
“The President gave them (National Government Frontline Team)
specific orders on the quickness and swiftness of damage assessment, at
kung ano ho ‘yung mga kailangan nating resources na mailagay doon sa mga
areas affected [and determine the resources needed in the affected
areas],” Valte added.
Valte also said the government is prepared to tap its contingency and
calamity funds in case there is a need to augment existing resources
needed for the relief operations following the onslaught of Ruby.
“We’ll know in the coming days. Mayroon pa naman ho tayong
contingency fund, mayroon pa ho tayong calamity fund, at ‘yan ho ‘yung
mga dahilan kung bakit mayroon ho tayong ganitong mga pondo para
makapaglabas po agad, para mabigyan ng ayuda ‘yung ating mga lokal na
pamahalaan. So far, wala pa naman nag-augment] [We have the contingency
fund, calamity fund and these are the reasons why we have this type of
funds so they can be released immediately to provide assistance to local
government units. So far, there is no need to augment],” Valte said.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had earlier released
P4.69 billion to various government agencies for the Quick Response
Funds (QRFs) in anticipation of Ruby’s destructive force. These are
standby funds that can be accessed in times of emergencies or disasters.
