MANILA – The death toll from typhoon “Ondoy†soared to 250 amid warnings from weathermen that a low pressure area might enter the Philippines Tuesday night, officials of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported.
Officials said that of the total, Metro Manila accounted for the highest number of fatalities with 101, followed by Central Luzon, 90; Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region both in the Northern Luzon highlands with 37 and three, respectively.
However, officials expressed fear that the fatalities could increase further as rescue teams continued to dig into the rubles of the houses that were swept away by flashfloods, landslides and rockslides, particularly in the mountainous and low-level areas that were devastated by “Ondoy†(international codename “Ketsanaâ€).
As relief efforts intensified, Secretary Jesli Lapus of the Department of Education announced the extension of the suspension of classes at the elementary and high school levels until Saturday in Metro Manila as well as in the provinces of Rizal, Laguna and Cavite in Southern Luzon.
Most of the school houses in the metropolis and the other flood-ravaged areas have been damaged and thus, need repair or are being used as evacuation centers for the estimated 1.2 million people who were displaced from their homes.
A spokesman of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) also announced that classes in colleges and universities in Metro Manila and some of the provinces in Southern and Central Luzon have been suspended until Friday.
The spokesman explained this is to enable the students to help in the repair and cleanup of their homes which were damaged by the floods, or help in the rescue and relief missions being undertaken by the government and the private sector for the victims of tropical storm.
Even as the country is still reeling from the devastation caused by “Ondoy,†the weather bureau, officially known as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), warned that a low pressure area might enter the country’s area of responsibility Tuesday night.
Nathaniel Cruz, the Pagasa deputy administrator, said that if the new weather disturbance enters the country, it would carry the codename “Peping.â€
However, Cruz pointed out it is also possible that the new weather disturbance would still skip the Philippines and head, instead, for Taiwan.
At the same time, the Department of Health warned of the great possibility of an outbreak of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, dengue, measles and even influenza A(H1N1) virus, in flooded areas, especially in evacuation centers.
Dr. Eric Tayag, the health department’s chief epidemiologist, said the outbreak of such ailments is possible if there is no sufficient potable water supply and basic personal hygiene is not practiced by the evacuees.
“Now that you have a breakdown in water supply and sanitation, the transmission of diseases will be faster,†Tayag warned.
He stressed that in three to four weeks, they are expecting a rise in dengue cases in affected communities where stagnant floodwaters can be breeding gr9ounds for the dengue-carrying mosquitoes, “Aedes aegypti.â€
To prevent the onset and spread of diseases, Tayag pointed out that temporary shelters must have a steady supply of fresh water. He said an average person needs at least 20 liters of fresh water a day for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.
Tayag also advised managers of the temporary shelters of avoid overcrowding of evacuees and to separate immediately those suffering from cough, cold, flu and other contagious ailments from the healthy ones to prevent their spread.
Tayag’s warning became even more significant following media reports of “deplorable†sanitation conditions in schools, gymnasiums and other buildings that have been converted into evacuation centers.
Headline image (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
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