Staff reporter
Laoag
City—After being battered by typhoon “Mario”
(international name Fung-wong) the provincial government has declared a state
of calamity to hasten recovery of those badly affected by the typhoon.
On Sept. 22, Ilocos Norte
Gov. Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos suspended classes in elementary and secondary levels
in the province to give both parents and students a chance to gather themselves
after the calamity.
On the same day, Ilocos Norte
Electric Cooperative board President Reynaldo M. Lazo said full restoration of
power in the whole province may take four to five days.
Typhoon “Mario” left a swathe
of devastation around the province with once casualty, three injured and over
P450.2 million in estimated damages in agriculture and infrastructure.
At least 947 houses were also
reported totally or partially damaged in the towns of Nueva Era, Burgos, Banna,
Piddig, Pasuquin, Paoay, Sarrat and Batac City. The same report also stated
that 4,541 houses where underwater and 436 were isolated by flood waters.
On Sept. 21 at about 6 pm, a
C130 plane of the Philippine Air Force touched down at the Laoag International
Airport carrying 3,125 food packs from the Dept. of Social Welfare and
Development. The relief packs were immediately loaded onto waiting trucks and
temporarily stored at the Provincial Capitol for inventory and eventual
distribution to affected families.
The distribution began on
Sept. 22.
Imee meets with agri sector stakeholders
To fast track the recovery of affected farmers, Ms. Marcos
met with farmers’ organizations and other agriculture stakeholders at the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan hall on Sept. 21, amidst heavy rain fall to jointly
formulate a recovery plan.
With at least 45 tons of rice
still recoverable in the next 36 hours, the provincial government has tasked local
government units with trucks, multi-fast rice mills and dryers to offer their
services for free to affected farmers while the National Food Authority pledged
to buy the recovered rice. The trucking cost will also be shouldered by the
provincial government.
Meanwhile, the Marcos administration
guaranteed the availability of a P5 million loan package for mango and dragon
fruit growers association with zero interest for a period of one year.
Marginalized farmers with 100
percent damage in high value crops, fish cages and livestock will be given free
seed stocks and fertilizer. For the mean time, they were also encouraged to
plant immediate cash crops like Chinese kangkong,
Chinese pechay, okra, monggo, beans and other vegetables and
root crops.
To anticipate the wide spread
of diseases such as dengue after typhoon, Ms. Marcos has called on volunteers
to participate in the province-wide “Oplan Dalus” or a general cleaning
activity.
With just P35 million
remaining in its calamity fund, the governor said volunteers may avail of cash
allowance through the provincial government’s cash-for-work program.
Resilient Ilocanos rise above ‘Mario’
For over 17 straight hours of intense rain and howling winds,
resilient Ilocanos rose above flood waters, landslides, uprooted and fallen
trees and electric posts as they hang on to each other until typhoon ‘Mario’
weakened and finally found its way outside of the Philippine area of
responsibility.
Due to howling wind on
Saturday afternoon, Sept. 20, Maria Corpuz of Casili, Laoag City got
nervous and died of heart attack, June Arvin C. Gudoy, head of the
Communication and Media Office of the provincial government confirmed this
on Sept. 21.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction
Management Council identified the two injured victims as Thelma Ragonjan, 56,
of Barangay Lioes in Currimao and Gloria Ganal, 72 of San Antonio, Sarrat. Ms. Ragonjan’s
head was injured by a GI roof while Ms. Ganal was electrocuted.
Members of the provincial
board were quick to declare the province under a state of calamity on Sept.
20.
For local residents, “Mario’s”
wrath for Ilocos Norte came unexpected as the typhoon seemed like a tourist
passing through the province’s major tourist destinations on its first day,
Sept. 19, enabling the Provincial Resiliency Task Force composed of the
Philippine National Police, Provincial search and rescue team, Philippine Air
Force and Philippine Army to continue the conduct of evacuation drills covering
at least 76 identified flood-prone villages here.
Investing more on disaster
preparedness, Ms. Marcos said the conduct of evacuation drills was helpful,
though some residents in Badio in Pinili and sitio Tupacan in Bacarra earlier
declined to leave their houses amidst stern warnings of imminent flash floods.
Farmers’ livestock however
were not spared by typhoon “Mario” as a cattle in San Marcelino, Dingras was
drowned by raging floodwaters. Due to howling wind, a fallen tree also killed a
water buffalo under the tree in the same barangay.
As soon as the Quiaoit River
in Batac City overflowed but before floodwaters reached their homes in Paoay,
search and rescue teams have already alerted residents of Brgys. Salbang, San
Agustin, San Blas, Cabangaran, Dolores, Cabaguan, Nalasin, Pannaratan, San
Pedro, San Juan to evacuate to safer ground, bringing in food packs, water,
generator sets and flashlights to affected families.
In Sarrat, a funeral car with
a convoy of motorcycle-riding men, wearing helmet and raincoat, followed by a
public utility jeep with passengers proceeded to the nearby public
cemetery on Saturday afternoon as soon as typhoon Mario weakened with
light to moderate rains.
Also, barangay residents and
officials immediately cleared the highways with fallen branches of trees and
linemen of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative and the National Grid
Corporation of the Philippines braved the storm as they tried to bring back
power supply which was earlier preventively shut down as a precautionary
measure. The entire province was without power at the height of the typhoon.
Trapped inside their flooded
house in San Nicolas, Florante Nicolas, 35, said with a sigh, “I’m investing on
a boat, rather than a car soon.”
“Wag munang isipin ang agrikultura. Masakit man sabihin e talagang
tangay lahat at nalunod na. Mga bahay natin, tagpi-tagpi muna at magpalikas
kung kinakailangan,” Ms. Marcos said at the height of the typhoon as she urged
all Ilocanos particularly in isolated barangays to stay indoors while they were
trying to deliver relief goods at the soonest possible time.
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