It will be a bleak and literally cold Christmas for many Typhoon “Odette” victims of Sipalay City in southern Negros Occidental.
Sipalay Mayor Gina Montilla Lizares said Thursday, December 23, that the typhoon-affected residents badly need clothes, blankets, slippers, hygiene kits and construction materials to rebuild their homes.
“Blankets are important because it’s going to be a cold Christmas for the people literately and figuratively. We need to warm them up with blankets,” she said.
Many of the evacuees have gone back to homes without roofs and walls, she said.
Sipalay was the worst hit by “Odette” in Negros Occidental with 3,000 houses destroyed and 8,500 damaged affecting 80,000 residents.
The typhoon also killed 17 residents, while others are still missing.
“The rebuilding and rehabilitation will take months,” she said.
Lizares is thankful that rice and drinking water assistance has been pouring in from government and various groups.
TOURISM INDUSTRY
The city’s tourism industry that had suffered at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was gradually recovering when the typhoon hit. Now they are in a worse situation, Lizares said.
Sipalay City is known for its white sand beaches and crystal clear waters that attract local and foreign tourists.
The tourism industry cannot get back on its feet until power is restored, Lizares said, pointing out that they have had no electricity since December 17.
She said the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative has not given them a timetable on when it can restore power, and the resort owners whose facilities were damaged and destroyed cannot buy generators because of their exorbitant prices now.
The city is also faced with communication problems because of very limited mobile phone and internet connectivity.
The typhoon also destroyed roads and crops, killed livestock and caused many to lose their livelihoods, Lizares said.
Many fishermen lost their fishing boats, she pointed out.
WATER ASSISTANCE
The Sagay City government Aquacube Water Purifier was sent to Sipalay City Thursday with the help of the Rotary Club of Sagay and District 3850.
The Japan-made purifying equipment can turn stream and ground water into potable drinking water at 2,000 liters per hour.
The Rotary 3850 Disaster Response Team will also conduct relief and medical mission on Sunday, December 26, in three severely affected barangays of Sipalay City.
The Negros Occidental provincial government has also been sending the city generators, food and water assistance.
DONATIONS
Lizares said donations for the rebuilding of homes can be deposited at the Land Bank of the Philippines Sipalay Branch. The account name is City of Sipalay Odette Trust Fund with account number 1322 1062 42, and swift code TLBPPHMMXXX.
Donors may also call the following helplines – 09693322348, 09693322349 and 09693322350, she said.
Those who go to Sipalay to distribute goods are urged to pass by the City Emergency Operations Center at the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office at Barangay 3.
This is so donations can be properly recorded, receipts can be issued, and to direct donors to areas needing help the most.
Donors may opt to leave their donations at the EOC or distribute them directly to the communities, she said.*