ALMERIA, Biliran – Two weeks since typhoon Urduja struck, Biliranons are now slowly recovering. Some families, however, are still reeling from its aftermath.
While electricity is back in most barangays, 263 families remain in evacuation centers as of Dec. 26, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC). Other families in heavily-hit areas also remain dependent on relief goods.
The capital Naval is now accessible from Tacloban City, yet the usual two-and-a-half-hour trip now takes five hours as Caraycaray bridge collapsed due to heavy flooding last Dec. 16.
Half of Naval’s water supply has been restored, but PDRRMC has reported a case of e. coli contamination in Busali town.
Urduja, which brought heavy flooding and landslides, killed 42 people and injured 106, PDRRMC’s Dec. 26 report show.
Retrieval operations in some areas where landslides occurred are still ongoing as 14 people remain missing.
PDRRMC estimates that Urduja damaged over P6 million in housing properties, P93 million in agriculture and P11.5 million in infrastructure.
Local videographer Jeffrey Jaculbe captured the aftermath of the typhoon and in this video tells how couple Gabby and Melojean Demate survived.
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