MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 9, 2013) – Super typhoon Haiyan has left a trail of destruction in the Philippines and authorities have initially reported two casualties, one of them a one-year old boy.
Television reports, however, said as many as 20 people or dozens more may have died from the wrath of the typhoon as it battered the central Philippines on Friday. Bit this could not be independently confirmed as authorities try to get all records in the provinces.
Undersecretary Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the typhoon disrupted electricity supply and vital communications line in the Visayas region.
Government spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr. said Presindent Benigno Aquino has ordered relief operations to areas affected by the typhoon and that an additional P53 million was released for this purpose.
“Sa ngayon, walang dahilan para mabahala. Ang mapapansin natin, ang pagsisikap ng pamahalaan ay maging proactive ang mauna tayo sa sitwasyon at magkaroon ng sapat na inpormasyon ang ating mga kababayan para huwag na maulit ang naganap noong nakaraan dahil sa kulang ang impormasyon, maraming nasawi o naapektuhan ng kalamidad (What we in government have been doing is to be proactive. We are giving information to the public in advance so they can make informed choices and prevent loss of lives),” Coloma said at a media briefing in Malacañang.
“Ang bulk ng aming nakuhang report at mino-monitor pa ngayon ay yung movement ng typhoon, so that we can still give adequate warning to our people (Our efforts to monitor the movements of the typhoon are meant to give people adequate warning),” he added. (Mindanao Examiner)
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