Families affected by ‘Odette’ climb to 181.5K: NDRRMC

MANILA – The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday said 181,500 families residing in 2,209 barangays were affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette (international name Rai).

In its 10 a.m. update, the NDRRMC said these barangays are located in Mimaropa, Regions 5 (Bicol), 6 (Western Visayas), 8 (Eastern Visayas), 10 (Northern Mindanao), 11 (Davao), 12 (Soccsksargen), 13 (Caraga), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

It said 2,861 evacuation centers are now aiding 107,816 families or 427,903 individuals with the remainder being sheltered by relatives and friends.

As of Sunday, the NDRRMC reported four confirmed deaths due to “Odette” while another 27 are still being validated.

The national council is also confirming reports of three injured and one missing.

The NDRRMC also said 135 areas in Mimaropa, Regions 7, 8, 10, and the BARMM are still experiencing communication outages.

“Odette” has left 3,612 partially damaged and 171 totally damaged houses in Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Caraga, and the BARMM, it added.

Donation drive

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Office of Civil Defense said it started a donation campaign as part of ongoing efforts to help communities and families severely affected by “Odette”.

“Bilang pagtugon sa mga tawag at pagpapahayag ng kagustuhan ng mga kababayan natin na magbigay at magpadala ng tulong sa mga nasalanta ng Bagyong Odette, activated na uli ang ating mga donation line(s) (at) focal persons(s). (In response to calls and pledges of support from our countrymen who expressed willingness to send help to those affected by Odette’s onslaught, we have activated our donation lines and focal persons),” the OCD said.

For in-kind donations, interested parties are advised to call the OCD at 0917-825-57-43 or email at the ndrrmc.donations@ocd.gov.ph and the Department of Social Welfare and Development at the 0927-436-10-39.

Priority needs, it said, are the following supplies: food, hygiene materials, shelter materials, shelter repair materials, and water.

Those interested in making cash donations are advised to deposit them through the Development Bank of the Philippine branch in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City (Philippine pesos deposits: 000-00149-435-3 and US dollar donations: 01-5-00047-435-4)

“Paalala lang po, mag-iingat sa mga bogus solicitation (Reminder, please be careful versus bogus solicitation),” the OCD said.

In its 5 a.m. weather bulletin Sunday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said “Odette” is already outside the Philippines area of responsibility.

It is located 320 kilometers northwest of Pag-asa Island in West Philippine Sea (WPS) with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 240 kph.