Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said Friday, December 17, that despite the fury unleashed by Super Typhoon “Odette” late Thursday evening until the wee hours of Friday, no fatalities were reported nor injuries inflicted on Bacolodnons.
“We thank the good Lord Almighty for sparing our people from such harm,” he said.
“We also saw that our decision to assert the conduct of pre-emptive evacuations of families living in high risk areas such as low-lying communities and along shorelines and near bodies of water, saved lives. It was the first time that we evacuated this many pre-emptively in the wake of a typhoon,” Leonardia said.
He called for prayers for neighboring local government units hardest hit by typhoon, particularly those in the central and southern parts of Negros Occidental.
Most of the 1,220 families or, close to 5,000 individuals (as of 6 a.m., Friday), who transferred earlier on Thursday to the different evacuation centers, have already returned to their homes, he said.
“Some of them lost their homes. Others suffered damages. I have ordered the DSSD and other offices working for disaster response to make an assessment soonest so that your LGU would be able to respond accordingly”, he said.*