BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Capitol has confirmed a dozen people were killed and 45 others remain missing a day after Typhoon Odette left a trail of destruction in the province’s southern corridor where at least 2.4 million people live in its 18 towns and cities.
Disaster chief Zeaphard Caelian told DNX this is initially believed to be the highest fatality count in the province where three cities, Sipalay, Himamaylan, and Kabankalan, were placed under Signal No. 4, the highest classification when the Category 5 Odette (Rai) hit the province early in the morning of 17 December 2021.
Capitol czar Rayfrando Diaz II told DNX the city of 70,000 people had been isolated at the height of the storm’s fury but is now “partially passable” after trees, poles, and debris that blocked the roads leading to it were cleared.
He also confirmed reports that cellular phone towers, power poles, and the water system were damaged.
Sipalay, more than 160 kilometers from here, is famous for its white sand beaches and has become a vacation haven for prominent people here and an attraction for foreign and domestic tourists.
