Hundreds killed as ‘Sendong’ unleashes floods, landslides without warning

THE number of dead from flashfloods that hit different areas in Mindanao was placed yesterday at 183 with 260 others listed as missing.

However, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council’s latest afternoon update placed the death toll from typhoon Sendong’s rampage at 56. The NDRRMC will only confirm the AFP report once the bodies of the victims are recovered and identified as part of the standard process before releasing benefits due the victims and their families.

The typhoon’s unexpected fury prompted local officials to cancel their scheduled Christmas parties in order to channel the funds to help the thousands of devastated residents.

According to initial reports, in Iligan City alone, at least 15 drowned, one of them identified as Enie Alzonado, an anchorman of Radyo Mo Nationwide, said Mayor Lawrence Cruz.     Cruz described rampaging floodwaters from swollen rivers that swamped at least 10 villages on the city's outskirts.

"It happened so fast, at a time when people were fast asleep," Cruz told GMA television.

The station showed dramatic pictures of a family escaping out of the window of their home as floodwaters rose, and rescue workers in orange vests shepherding survivors to safety above chest-deep floodwaters.

Elsewhere in Mindanao landslides also claimed an undetermined number of lives.

Police and military troops have joined civilian rescue workers in a massive search-and-rescue operation in the devastated areas with most of the affected residents found stuck on their rooftops, said Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome.

Bartolome ordered all concerned police regional and provincial directors to speed up the search for missing victims and help the affected families. Officials reported that many of the rescued victims were wet and cold when found.

“Instead of our Christmas party on December 20, we will spend the funds allocated for it to help the flood victims,” said Mayor Cruz.

The NDRRMC gave a little much lower death account but said the toll could further increase as reports from their regional offices reach Camp Aguinaldo.

NDRRMC head Benito Ramos said initially at least nine people were recorded dead in Iligan City. He said that the number could go up further as search efforts are intensified.

However, other local government officials said at least 69 bodies have been recovered already in Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City and other parts of Zamboanga del Norte. At least 200 others were believed to be missing as of press time.

Fifty-one were recorded dead in Cagayan de Oro City where two-meters deep floodwaters drowned the victims, destroyed valuable properties and agricultural crops and washed away vehicles, some of them later found nestled on steel gates when the water subsided. Electricity was also cut off in the city as a result of the flooding.

Many of the victims were children whose bodies were found in Barangay Tambo which is located along the swelling Cagayan de Oro river.

Iligan City police chief, Superintendent Celso Regencia said they are checking reports that at least 40 drowned in the city. Regencia said they are searching for possible additional bodies stuck in deep muddy waters.

Cruz called on the national government to fully support their search, rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the city where 11 barangays were heavily-affected by the floodwaters.

In Camp Aguinaldo, the NDRRMC in a 9 a.m. report said the death toll from ‘Sendong’ climbed to 20. The fatalities were as follows: 3 from Zamboanga del Norte; 7 from Cagayan de Oro City; 9 from Lanao del Norte; and one from Compostela Valley where the victim was killed in a landslide.

The NDRRMC also reported that a total of 5,040 passengers, 82 trucks, 6 cars, 143 buses, 6 motorized bancas, and 87 vessels were stranded in different areas in Western,Central and Eastern Visayas and Southern and Northern Mindanao and in Caraga region.        With AFP