By AARON RECUENCO
At least 13 people died while two others were reported missing before typhoon “Tisoy” (international name Kammuri) weakened into a tropical storm and began heading out of the country.
The weather disturbance is expected to exit the country between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, according to weather experts.
Based on the report from Bicol regional police, four more people were reported killed at the height of ‘Tisoy’ onslaught on Tuesday.
The two additional fatalities are from Sorsogon — one died of drowning while the other one died in evacuation center; the other two died of drowning in Goa and Pili towns in Camarines Sur.
Police earlier reported the death of Marco Paolo Ursua who was electrocuted to death while fixing the roof of their house.
Five were killed in Oriental Mindoro while two others died in Marinduque, according to Lt. Col. Imelda Tolentino, spokesperson of the MIMAROPA (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) regional police.
Tolentino identified the fatalities in Mindoro provinces as 59-year-old Ildefonso delos Reyes who was hit by an uprooted tree in Baco, Oriental Mindoro; 37-year-old Jessie Santos who was also hit by an uprooted tree in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro; 48-year-old Efren de Guzman who died of heart attack also in Pinamalayan; 64-year-old Dominador Lazo who died of heart attack in Pinamalayan.
The fifth fatality in Oriental Mindoro was identified as 81-year-old Dominador Lontoc who suffered heart attack.
Tolentino identified one of the two fatalities in Marinduque as 38-year-old Bernabe Minay who died when a coconut tree fell on him. The second fatality is unidentified.His death was due to seizure which was triggered by hypothermia.
In Ormoc City, a local resident died when he was hit by an uprooted tree, according to Lt. Col. Bella Rentuaya, spokesperson of the Eastern Visayas regional police.
She identified the victim as 38-year-old Joel Baledio, a construction worker who died on Monday.
All of the reported fatalities, however, are yet to be validated by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as part of the protocol since the relatives of the victims are being given financial assistance.
Search and retrieval operations, on the other hand, are still being conducted for 15-year-old Lorence Lagula who reportedly drowned in Divilacan town of Isabela and 27-year-old Dioluo Agam who was carried away by strong floodwater while crossing a bridge in Capiz.
At least 18 people were reportedly injured in various parts of the country. (Aaron Recuenco)