Nearly 90 percent of typhoon evacuees in Marikina City have already returned home, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said Tuesday.
"We have 10,500 families evacuated last week, last November 12 during the typhoon. As we speak now, we only have 1,050 families still remaining in the evacuation centers. So almost 90 percent of the evacuees have already returned home," Teodoro told ANC.
After the storm, flood debris was reportedly equivalent to a year-and-a-half’s worth of Marikina’s garbage.
The city hauled about 9,080 cubic meters of debris, according to Teodoro.
"What we're doing now is really imperative for us to clear the debris left by the typhoon. Many of our roads are clogged with debris. The debris that we're collecting is equivalent to that of one and a half years of garbage to be collected in the city," Teodoro added.
The local chief executive said the city has completed 45 percent of its clearing operations.
"We're able to clear the major roads but we're clearing now the secondary and interior alleys in the communities. That's one of the reasons why people can't access their houses at this point in time. But I must admit there are some that can't go home because they don't have a house to go home or return to," Teodoro added.
"That's the reason why we're getting the inventory and assessing the damage of the houses damaged, partially and totally damaged by the typhoon so we could help these evacuees rebuild their homes."
Typhoon "Ulysses," the world's strongest tropical cyclone in 2020 battered the Philippines on Nov. 11 bringing massive flooding in parts of Luzon, inundating and destroying houses and farms.