Kalinga under state of calamity due to Lawin

MANILA, Philippines – The province of Kalinga was placed under a state of calamity on Friday, October 21, following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Lawin (Haima).

At the height of the super typhoon, Kalinga was among the provinces under signal number 5.

In a Facebook post on Friday evening, Kalinga Vice Governor James Edduba announced that Governor Jocel Baac approved the declaration of a state of calamity.

Edubba, quoting the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), also said 6 fatalities have been recorded in Kalinga – all due to landslides.

Five of the victims are all members of the Dupa-as family, identified as Caesar (34 years old), Amelia (24), Aireen (6), Caleb (4), and Takgoo (1).

The other fatality was identified as Jiboy de Belen, a resident of the municipality of Pasil.

A partial, initial report showed that 8,080 persons or 2,113 families in 48 barangays in Kalinga are affected by Lawin.

There are also 281 totally damaged houses and 1,022 partially damaged houses.

Edubba also said the entire province has no cellular signal – both Globe and Smart – as well as no electricity.

“Accordingly it will take KAELCO two months to restore power and the signal will be restored within 3-4 days,” he said.

The Kalinga vice governor also issued an appeal for solidarity, saying, “Let’s all pray for strength so that we shall overcome this by supporting and helping each other especially the members and families of our kakailyan (town mates) who died in this tragic incident.” – Rappler.com