Mayors, MPDCs, MAO Officer, and MAO Staff in LGU Ayungon and LGU La Libertad conducted post-calamity inspection and assessment to AFOS FVP sites in Ayungon and La Libertad.
AFOS met with the Mayors, MPDCs, MAO, and MAO Staff to assess the devastation of Super Typhoon Odette in the various interventions of AFOS FVP sites. They have collected multiple pictures of damaged areas and project interventions, data, and information of beneficiaries whose fishing equipment was severely damaged by the typhoon.
The main challenge of the activity is to come up with a proposal to submit to AFOS Foundation for assistance, so the fisherfolk are given the opportunity to bounce back and go back to their main livelihood, which is fishing. The activity gave the stakeholders the opportunity to ask for support and assistance for rehabilitation and rebuilding their lives. Odette was classified by the US as a super typhoon when it hit Negros Oriental that brought devastation to the province.
Super Typhoon Odette left Negros Oriental with 51 people dead, 26 people missing, and injured more than 70 individuals. On December 17, 2021, the eye of Typhoon Odette, with the international name Typhoon Rai, arrived in La Libertad, Negros Oriental. It had a top wind speed of 175 km/h with gusts of up to 240 km/h near the center. Apart from Negros Oriental, various Central Visayas and Mindanao areas have been severely impacted.
During the storm, the northern portion of Negros Oriental, including Ayungon and La Libertad, was the most brutal hit. Rivers were murky, and torrents of water erupted and washed away surrounding homes. According to the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, the initial projected total damage in the province cost 600 million pesos.
Many places have been without water, electricity, internet, and even telephone signals. People didn’t have enough potable water, and they could not reach their family members.
Moreover, the typhoon has destroyed more than one-third of the province’s businesses, farms, and residences. Before the typhoon, the province has increased livestock, agriculture, and aquaculture industries up to the third quarter of 2021.
The national government has promised 2 billion pesos to assist inhabitants of Visayas and Mindanao that Typhoon Odette has displaced. According to the National Grid Cooperation, restoring stable energy in some places might take two months. President Rodrigo Duterte has directed government agencies to “use all available government assets” to assist those affected by the cyclone.
Aside from the problems left by the typhoon, everyone still needs to observe health protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making relief operations even more challenging. Aside from the supplies of face masks, the LGUs also have to make sure that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe.