AID workers who arrived on a Philippine Coast Guard boat in Dinagat Island last Sunday were horrified to see houses flatted to the ground including its provincial capitol.
Charlito “Kaloy” Manlupig, chair of the Balay Mindanaw Foundation said the category 4 winds and rains of typhoon Odette destroyed 95 percent of the island’s 22,000 homes.
Manlupig said even the provincial capitol of Dinagat was not spared including the house of the island’s Governor Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao.
The foundation’s rapid assessment and needs assessment placed the number of houses on the island at 23,000 houses and a population of 130,000 people.
“Everywhere you will see houses flatten to the ground or have their rooftops blown away,” Manlupig said.
He said the Dinagat Disaster Risk Reduction Management office reported 15 deaths during the onslaught of typhoon Odette.
Malupig said the sight of local disaster officials trying to salvage the one-month supply of soaked rice from their warehouse by cooking it into “lugaw” or porridge was heart-wrenching.
“People still lined up to get their share of lugaw because there is no food,” he said.
Manlupig said they only were able to see the damage in the capital town of San Jose because the roads going to the towns of Loreto, Basilisa, Tubajon, and Libjo were still inaccessible.
He said there are already cases of diarrhea reported as the island’s drinking water facilities suffered damages.
“The island’s agriculture is gone. There is no food, no rice, and no safe drinking water,” Manlupig said.
He said unscrupulous traders are selling vegetables at P100 a kilo and gasoline at P120 per liter.
The Balay Mindanao team arrived in Dinagat island on Sunday bringing food, water, and a SkyHydrant filtration system.
National Economic Development Authority-10 Director Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño said it would take a while for local government units to come up with the damage reports.
Cariño said many affected towns still have no communications and are unreachable by roads and sea.
“It will take a while for the numbers to sink in and the long road to recovery to begin,” she said.
