CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu City government will give financial aid of P10,000 to the families of the 15 victims who died here when Typhoon Odette struck on Thursday, December 16.

“[Mayor] Mike Rama ordered that families of those who died are to be given 10,000 cash. They prioritized the ones who had the most deaths,” Ramil Ayuman, head of Cebu City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO), told local radio station DYHP in Cebuano on Tuesday, December 21.

In Cebu City, the deaths were in the following barangays (villages):

• Apas- 3
• Basak Pardo- 2
• Buhisan- 1
• Kamputhaw- 1
• Pit-os- 1
• San Roque- 1
• T-Padilla- 1
• Tejero- 1
• Tisa- 3
• Lahug- 1

The three deaths in Apas happened in the upper class subdivision of San Antonio Village. The victims were all from the same family and were killed in their home when a crane from a nearby condominium construction site fell on top of their house.

Ayuman said most of the deaths were inland, while no one in the coastal barangays died because they did preemptive evacuations.

“That’s 15,000 Cebuanos we evacuated from the coastline,” Ayuman said. “It did not rain very much, but what we were worried about is the wind was strong,” he added.

Many of the deaths in the inland barangays were because of debris, posts, or trees falling on top of people. “In Tejero, a vendor hid in a M Lhuillier building. A post fell and he was hit. In Tisa, another post fell on the family,” Ayuman added.

Meanwhile, four people in the city are still missing. This brings the total number of deaths on Cebu island up to 63, according to accounts from the local government units.

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Cebu island death toll from Odette rises to 48

This number may be different from the casualties counted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Office of Civil Defense.

According to the PNP, most of the deaths so far were in the Central Visayas with 170 deaths, followed by 164 deaths in the Caraga region.

As of Wednesday, December 22, telecommunication lines have been partially restored, but data speed moves at a snail’s pace in most parts of Metro Cebu. The city is still struggling with providing enough tap water, drinking water, and gasoline for the city’s almost 1 million residents.

The Visayan Electric Company (VECO) has restored power in a few areas of the city, while some residents report water supply returning to their homes, although mostly intermittent.

The Metro Cebu Water District pegs the number of water lines restored at 36.4% of the franchise area as of Tuesday, December 21.

Rama blames telco failure for slow aid

In a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Mike Rama also cited the absence of telco signal as a reason for the delayed aid. “All of my communications, [are a] failure!” Rama said.

He said he had been receiving text messages from senators, other local government officials, and business people wanting to provide aid, but has not been able to reply to anyone.

The Cebu City Council also approved a P1 billion supplemental budget earlier this week to fast-track post-disaster recovery here. – Rappler.com