The confirmed deaths claimed Typhoon Odette have now hit 96 with the six more fatalities from Western Visayas, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Thursday.
NDRRMC said Western Visayas topped the list with 52 deaths; followed by Eastern Visayas with 18; Mimaropa, 16; Northern Mindanao, seven; Central Visayas, two and the Zamboanga Peninsula, one.
The number of confirmed injured also climbed last Thursday to 316 from 205 reported on Wednesday while the number of confirmed missing persons remained at six.
Still undergoing validation are reports of 313 dead, 1,068 injured, and 59 missing. The number of affected barangays climbed to 9,068 from Wednesday’s 8,980.
The battered communities are located in Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, the Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
NGRRMC now also puts the number of affected families at 2,453,075, equivalent to some 8,709,417 persons. Families being aided and sheltered in 1,120 evacuation centers are placed at 56,869 while 32,669 families are being aided outside, with the remainder being helped by families and friends.
‘Odette’ is regarded as one of the strongest typhoons to hit the country in December in decades. It swept through areas in the Visayas and Mindanao last year and wrought havoc along its path. It made nine landfalls in two days – Dinagat Island, Surigao del Norte, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Palawan.
The typhoon made nine landfalls between December 16 and 17 in the provinces of Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Palawan.