TACLOBAN CITY - The sun is finally up. Hope sparks as the search, rescue, and retrieval operations continue to find more survivors and fatalities from the missing individuals in the rubble created by successive landslides at the height of tropical storm Agaton’s onslaught in Baybay City and Abuyog Leyte.
Local government units and non-government organizations quickly mobilized their emergency response units and relief operations for the affected areas despite the difficulty in accessing them.
Landslides and flooding were also reported in other areas in Leyte and Biliran province, which rendered major roads impassable.
"There is a challenge in accessing the landslide-affected areas but we have not recorded any injury among our troops,” said Capt. Janice Obaob of the 82nd CMO Company.
“They endure the mud and sometimes hunger because it takes time to also bring food to them on the field but what matters is we can save the survivors and retrieve the bodies of those who perished," she added.
As of 6:00 a.m. on Thursday (April 14), Police Regional Office 8 (PRO 8) has tallied 114 fatalities in Eastern Visayas.
Of these, 81 came from Baybay City, and out of these only 59 have been identified while the 22 have yet to be identified. At least 5 individuals remain missing in Baybay City.
In Abuyog, Leyte where massive flooding and landslides were also reported, 32 fatalities have been recovered. Of these, only two have not been identified.
A total of 236 were injured including 106 in Baybay City, 128 in Abuyog, and two in Dulag.
At least 3,663 individuals belonging to 674 families have remained in the evacuation centers.
Volunteer medical teams appeal for anyone who could provide toys for children, including coloring books and crayons for psychosocial support of children in evacuation centers.
More medicines and medical kits such as gloves, gauze, tape, and povidone-iodine (Betadine) are needed.