Typhoon “Ursula” left at least 20 people dead and a trail of destruction in at least three regions in Luzon and the Visayas before starting to move out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, police and disaster management officials said yesterday.
Based on the data of the police and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), at least 11 people were also reported missing in Western Visayas and Mimaropa (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan).
In Western Visayas, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan said they received reports of 14 deaths. At least three people were also reported injured.
Of the 14 reported deaths, he said five of them were in Batad, three in Balasan, and one in Carles, all in Iloilo. Four others were reported in Capiz – one in Pilar, another one in Pontevedra, one in President Roxas, and one in Mambusao.
Pamuspusan said another fatality was reported in New Washington, Aklan.
Of the missing, five are in Iloilo, two in Capiz, and four in Aklan.
In Oriental Mindoro, three people were reported dead, according to Police Lt. Col. Imelda Tolentino, spokesperson of the Mimaropa regional police.
In Eastern Visayas, three people were also reported dead – 13-year-old Arwin Jomoc who died of electrocution in Baybay City in Leyte; 27-year-old Reymark Canete who was hit by an uprooted tree in Cabucgayan in Biliran; and Police Staff Sgt. Charles Pongos who was electrocuted after his motorcycle crashed in Nalitbog in Southern Leyte.
More than 15,000 people were also forced to flee their homes before and during the onslaught of Ursula.
Police said 6,275 of them were from Western Visayas and 7, 178 people in Mimaropa. The OCD said there were 2,500 people evacuated in Eastern Visayas.
Police records also disclosed that there were seven police stations damaged by the weather disturbance while the roof of the Aklan Provincial Police Office was detached due to strong winds.
In Antique, at least 1,270 houses were either partially or totally damaged. In Oriental Mindoro, 123 houses were also reported damaged. (Aaron Recuenco)
