MASBATE City sustains heavy damage from 'Opong.' (FB)
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – Tropical cyclone “Opong” killed nine persons and injured 15 as it battered Masbate province on Friday, Sept. 26.
The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)-Bicol said in its 9 p.m. report tonight that a 16-year-old boy was killed when a wall collapsed on him while a six-year-old boy drowned after slipping from his parent’s grip during an evacuation as floodwaters surged through a river in Masbate City.
In Monreal town, Masbate, a 30-year-old man died after he was struck by a falling tree.
In Batuan, a 62-year-old woman was killed after she was hit by a coconut tree that fell on the house she was staying.
Cataingan town reported two fatalities – a 13-year-old boy who was crushed by a fallen tree and a 70-year-old man who suffered a fatal heart attack.
Two victims were in Placer – a 16-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl – who were both struck by a coconut tree that split and crashed into their bedroom.
Another death was recorded in Uson town. Authorities have yet to confirm the victim’s identity.
The OCD-Bicol also reported that a 40-year-old fisherman from Baras, Catanduanes, remains missing after he went out to sea prior to the arrival of tropical cyclone “Mirasol.”
The typhoon affected 221,873 families (837,427 individuals) in 1,614 barangays in the Bicol region.
As of Friday, 11,576 families remain in evacuation centers.
Authorities recorded two flooding incidents in Masbate City and a soil erosion in Barcelona, Sorsogon.
Initial assessments placed damage to infrastructure at P31.9 million with P31.5 million in Masbate and P450,000 in Sorsogon.
At least 776 houses were damaged – 710 partially and 66 totally destroyed.
Some municipalities in Masbate remain without electricity and water supply, prompting local officials to appeal for assistance from the national government.
Government agencies, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), OCD, and local government units (LGUs), have so far provided P38.7-million worth of food and non-food items (FNFIs) to affected provinces in Bicol.