BACOLOD CITY – The number of fatalities in the wake of Typhoon Odette in Negros Occidental has increased to 40, figures released by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 6 (Western Visayas) on Thursday showed.
“There are 44 reported deaths but only 40 are confirmed or with supporting documents,” the OCD-6 said based on the official report from the Management of the Dead and Missing Cluster under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 6.
Figures also showed 19 others were still missing while 59 were injured.
Of the 40 casualties, 18 were recorded in Sipalay City while eight were in Kabankalan City.
The rest were reported in Moises Padilla, with three; San Carlos City, Candoni, Cauayan, two each; and La Carlota City, Binalbagan, Ilog, Isabela, and Manapla, one each.
Fifteen of the missing persons were monitored in Sipalay City while three were in Kabankalan City and one in Candoni.
Also, 56 of the injured were reported in Sipalay City, along with two in Moises Padilla and one in San Carlos City.
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, the city government of Sipalay appealed for assistance whether in cash or in kind.
For in-kind donations, needed are drinking water, food packs, canned goods, clothes and blankets, power banks, portable solar lights, hygiene kits, face masks, rubbing alcohol, generator sets, construction materials, and medicines.
According to the city government, “the whole city has been suffering from scarcity of drinking water, no electricity, and very limited connectivity for mobile phone and Internet” since December 17.
It added that 20,000 families were affected, comprising almost 80,000 Sipalaynons, while about 3,000 houses were destroyed and 8,500 others were damaged.
“We lost various crops, livestock, sources of income, and even lives of fellows. Please join us, help us recover,” the city government appealed. (PNA)