Photo from Brgy Banago Bacolod City #OdettePH

Situation Overview

In PAGASA’s 5:00 am advisory, TY Odette continues to head towards Palawan as it coasts over the Panay Gulf., and is now located 75 kilometers (km) southwest of Iloilo City. The typhoon has slightly reduced its strength carrying maximum winds of 155 km/ and gustiness of up to 235 km/h.

As of 10:00 am today, the center of the eye of TY Odette was spotted at 90 km/h Southwest of Cuyo, Palawan maintaining its strength. Due to its slight slowdown after numerous landfall overnight, no more areas under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4. However, Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No.3 was elevated in the following areas including the Northern portion of Palawan (El Nido, Taytay, Araceli, Dumaran, Roxas, San Vicente, Puerto Princesa City) including Cagayancillo and Cuyo Island).

Meanwhile, Tropical cyclone wind signal no. 2 was still hoisted over the southern portion of Mindoro (Bulalacao, Roxas, Mansalay), the southern portion of Occidental Mindoro (Rizal, San Jose, Magsaysay) and the central portion of Palawan (Narra, Sofronio, Espanola, Quezon, Aborlan, Rizal, Brooke’s Point) including Kalayaan and Calamian Island. The southern portion of Negros Occidental, Antique, the northwestern and western portions of Aklan, the southwestern portion of Capiz(Jamindan and Tapaz), the central and southern portions of Iloilo and Guimaras.

While areas placed under Tropical cyclone wind signal no.1 includes; Batangas, the southern portion of Quezon, Marinduque, Masbate and Romblon. In Visayas, western portion of Bohol, Siquijor, Cebu including Bantayan Islnds, the rest of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, the rest of Capiz, the rest of Iloilo and the rest of Aklan. In Mindanao, TWCS No.1 is also raised in the northern portion of Zamboanga del Norte and northern portion of Misamis Oriental.

TY Odette is forecast to make landfall in the vicinity of the northern or central portion of Palawan by the afternoon.

Although the typhoon has not directly hit the terrains of Cagayan de Oro, some of its areas are currently experiencing extensive flooding and mandatory evacuation in some parts are underway as some river in Cagayan de Oro overflowed. The dread so far, is that flooding coincides with high tide, creating a situation where the water coming down from the mountains has nowhere to go. The floodwaters had almost reached the roof of the houses in the province. In Zone 5, Puerto Cagayan de Oro many houses were swept away by the strong river currents. Several streets in Cagayan de Oro were also reported to be impassable due to the havoc caused by the typhoon. The rivers in Iligan City overflowed as well and only the tops of the trees can be seen above the floodwater.

In Leyte, where TY Odette landfall twice, residents experienced a frightening and seemingly angry wind as the typhoon swept through the province. Several households were damaged in the coastal communities of Leyte due to the storm surge caused by the typhoon. Trail of destruction was also seen in the province of Negros Occidental, particularly in the City of Silay in Negros Occidental where toppled trees are scattered along the municipality highways. Hundreds of trees were also knockdown in Barangay Cabasagan in the municipality of Boston, Davao Oriental as strong winds hit the town.

TY Odette also caused the Loboc River in Bohol to overflow, prompting massive floods. Water from the Loboc River rose almost to the 2nd floor of the municipal building, because of this the entire province of Bohol remains without a power supply. TY Odette onslaught was also extremely felt in the Province of Cebu, particularly in the town of Mandaue City.

Source: Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Inquirer.

Affected Populations

As to date, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported 1 validated death, with another 2 injured persons attributed to the typhoon. The related authorities is still in the process of validating a number of fatalities and missing persons in the affected areas.

Thousands of people were affected as TY Odette unleashed strong winds and heavy widespread rain across the provinces of Visayas and Mindanao. In its latest report, a total of 332, 855 individuals from Region 6, 7,8 and CARAGA were pre-emptively evacuated and at least 12,829 families or 44,264 individuals were affected in 262 barangays.

The typhoon caused widespread blackouts in 71 various areas in Region 6, Region 7, and Region 8. Electricity has not yet been restored in some of the aforementioned regions.

In Butuan City, a total of 29 barangays were directly affected by flooding as sporadic rains dampen most parts of the city. At least 2,090 families with 7,113 individuals already evacuated from their homes as of 4 p.m. yesterday. Evacuation and rescue operations are still ongoing as flooding continues in the barangay. The number of evacuees is still expected to increase as the water level of the Agusan River, the largest tributary in the city has reached a warning level.

In Iloilo City, 42 municipalities have conducted preemptive evacuation, evacuees in different towns of Iloilo have reached 7,318 families with 26,968 individuals. According to the PDRRMO of Antique, an estimated 1,215 families in 5 towns in Antique namely, Anini-y, Tobias, Fornier, Tibiao, Barabaza and 20 barangays In the Municipality of Libertad were evacuated.

Based on the latest update of PCDR’s Disaster Preparedness Committee, 682 families in different identified evacuation centers in the Barangays of Domolog, Culasi, Cogon, Brgy.5, Barra, Libas, Culajao, Brgy. 7, Punta Tabuc, Tabuc Tulay and Cagay were recorded.

Up to this point, the extent of the damage caused by the typhoon has not yet been reported.

Source: National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Inquirer, Leyte Center for Development, Panay Center for Disaster Response, Capiz PDRRMO, PCDR-DPCs, Antique PDRRMO)

Emergency Response Efforts

1. CDRC is closely monitoring Typhoon “ODETTE” since it was spotted by PAGASA and also monitoring the situation in the affected areas and constantly updating situation reports.
2. CDRC is also closely coordinating with its regional centers in affected areas to collect information on the situation and needs of the ground.
3. On December 15, CDRCC established the activation of the Emergency Response Team for TY Odette as well as the affected regions of its partners. (PCDR, LCDE, CPRS, and DIRECT).
4. Constant coordination was made by CDRC’s Regional centers with their respective LGU partners particularly with the Local DRRM Offices in the affected cities and provinces. Emergency Response Teams of the respective affected regional centers have been monitoring the developments of the local situation and continue to send data from the ground.
5. With the rising need for emergency response, CDRC has activated its emergency response, which motivates its coordination mechanisms and fundraising efforts. A call for donation for TY Odette has already been posted in our official Facebook page.
6. In addition to establishing ongoing coordination between partners and other networks, typhoon-affected regional centers are currently making an appeal through Emergency Relief Assistance Fund.

Resources Available
Standby emergency funds
1. Prepositioned goods at the CDRC warehouse
2. Monetary and in-kind donations
Expressed Needs
Initial Assessments have indicated immediate needs include;
• Food supplies
• Clean water
• Hygiene kits
• Facemasks
• Primary medicines
• Sleeping materials
Coordination
1. Regional Center
2. LCDE
3. PCDR
4. CPRS
5. DIRECT
Contacts
1. Hanna Fiel, Deputy Executive Director, 0945-8355589, hanna.fiel.cdrc2019@gmail.com
2. Cora Jazmines, Local Partnerships Department, 0928-182-4969, lpd@cdrc-phil.com