Iligan & Cagayan De Oro City Philippines death toll rises to 1,236 and many missing

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December 25, 2011 (5:15 PM) UPDATE: 1,236 confirmed dead and half million displaced.

The cities of Cagayan de Oro and nearby Iligan on Mindanao island were worst hit when Typhoon Wasi slammed ashore while people slept late on Friday and early Saturday, sending torrents of water and mud through villages and stripping mountainsides bare.

"This is the first time this has happened in our city," Vicente Emano, mayor of Cagayan de Oro, said in a radio interview. He said officials in the area did not receive adequate warning before the typhoon struck.

The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) estimated 497 were killed in eight provinces in the southern Mindanao region, with more than 100 still missing.

"It's difficult to be certain on those missing," Gwendolyn Pang, secretary-general of the PNRC, told Reuters. "The floods washed out whole houses and families inside. It's possible entire families are dead and no one is reporting them missing."

The latest report by the state disaster agency said 327 people had been killed and 274 were missing.

Disaster and health officials were struggling to deal with the scores of bodies that have been recovered. Some have been stacked one on top of another in local mortuaries.

Mindanao island, the southernmost in the Philippines, is a mineral-rich region that also produces rice and corn but is not normally on the path of an average 20 typhoons that hit the Southeast Asian country each year.

"This pose challenges to us ... We need to educate people with this kind of change in climate," Pang said. "The volume of rainfall for one month fell for just one day."

RESCUED BY CARGO SHIP

Typhoons normally strike the central Visayas region and the southern tip or the eastern part of Luzon, the main island in the north.

Carmelita Pulosan, 42, said she and eight family members and neighbours survived by sitting on top of the tin roof of their house as it drifted miles into the open sea after floodwaters swept through their village.

They were rescued by a passing cargo ship.

"There was a deafening sound followed by a rush of water. We found ourselves in the river and the current took us out to the sea," Pulosan, from Cagayan de Oro, told Reuters.

"The current was very strong. God is really good to us. He saved my family," she said. Only one 3-storey building was left standing in their village, Pulosan said.

Pang said many residents returned to their villages after floodwaters receded, but many found their homes destroyed.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States, a major ally of the Philippines, was ready to assist Philippine authorities.

Wasi, downgraded to a tropical storm with gusts of up to 80 km per hour (50 miles per hour), is now hovering 60 km (40 miles) west of the southwestern city of Puerto Princesa and is expected to move out of Philippine waters later on Sunday.

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Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Cagayan De Oro
• Iligan City
• Philippines
• Mindanao
• Sendong
• Tropical Storm
• Washi
• Calamity

[Bagatan63]

Save all logs build a housing

[Bagatan63]

Cause by HAARP . Please watch YouTube: HAARP documentary .

[bombaman55]

@yohjijee hoy potang ina mong muslim ka! respetuhin mo ang panginoon namin gaya din ng pagrespeto namin sa allah mo pakq ka!

[yohjijee]

@deasisadam1 Bismillah

(IntheNameOfAllah)

Do you know what is the real cause of the disaters? dhil sa pagsamba sa maling diyos kagaya ng gingawa ng Kristyanu yan ang walang kapatawaran.nag pagpatay at klase krimen ay masama peru yan lang ang di mpptawad hnggang ang tao ay hindi magbalik loob sa Islam.. khit halungkatin pa nitin ang ka22hunan si Hesus ay hindi diyos at kylan man di nya cnbi xa ay diyos,.kaya tigilan nyu na ang maling pananampaltaya hbang ku ay buhay pa,.salamt

[deasisadam1]

take note hindi lang na memedia marami ang napapatay sa mindanao without justice halos lahat ng tao may kanya kanya weapon . hindi ka safe sa lugar nayan .maraming missionary and spiritual leaders ang pinatay jan

God forgive me if i stated this ......gusto kolang magising ang readers lalo na sa mindanao

[deasisadam1]

pag ang bayan wala nang natirang matuwid gaya ng sinabi ng diyos kay abraham,,at his option he can stretch out his hand and may be all can be eradicated......tama yong sinabi ni philip2go halos yong lugar sa mindanao hindi lang yong CDO ay composition of illegal logger, milf,mnlf,npa pnd mga taong halos lahat hindi lang isa ang asawa kahit kanino nalang,,even to the extent that immorality become prevalent.....sana lesson naito sa inyo mga taga mindanao magising kayo sa katotohanan.

[JLEUNG77X7]

Pahayag 20

11 At nakita ko ang isang malaking luklukang maputi, at ang nakaluklok doon, na sa kaniyang harapan, ang lupa at ang langit ay tumakas; at walang nasumpungang kalalagyan nila.

12 At nakita ko ang mga patay, malalaki at maliliit, na nangakatayo sa harapan ng luklukan; at nangabuksan ang mga aklat: at nabuksan ang ibang aklat, na siyang aklat ng buhay: at ang mga patay ay hinatulan ayon sa mga bagay na nasusulat sa mga aklat, ayon sa kanilang mga gawa.

[bheamariec]

@nikaladesma i super agree.. 

[divina1525]

diyos ko ano napo nangyayari sa mundo natin??????????????? naiiyak ako habang pinapanuod ko ito.....

[nikaledesma]

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE CASH DONATIONS TO THE CITY MAYOR OR TO ANY LOCAL POLITITIAN DOWN TO BARANGAY CHAIRMANS INSTEAD GO TO EACH HOUSE DAMAGED OR AFFECTED BECAUSE THEY WILL CORRUPT THE MONEY. WE HAVEN'T RECEIVE ANY CASH DONATIONS YET REGARDING ABOUT HOUSE REHABILITATION. I WONDER WHERE IS THE VERY BIG FUND WENT DONATED BY THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT, WORLD ORGANIZATIONS AND FROM GENEROUS INDIVIDUALS WHO HELPED. UPTO NOW WE HAVEN'T GOT ANYTHING CASH DONATED FOR HOUSE REHABILITATION.