PNoy appeals for sobriety in reporting fatality figures from Typhoon Yolanda

President Benigno Aquino III on Sunday night appealed against reporting unconfirmed casualty figures from Super Typhoon Yoland, particularly those in Leyte.

Radio dzBB reported that Aquino, who visited Yolanda-hit areas including Tacloban City, met Sunday night with concerned officials at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council when he made the appeal.

Tacloban City after typhoon Yolanda (Image source: cnn.com)

News reports have cited fatality figures as high as 10,000.

Meanwhile, official numbers from the NDRRMC released Sunday night set the number of confirmed fatalities at 229. The injured now number 45, with 28 still missing. 

Also, the NDRRMC said at least 2,055,630 families or 9,497,847 people in 7,027 villages in 455 towns and 49 cities in 41 provinces had been affected by Yolanda.

Of these, 132,323 families or 630,054 people were displaced. At least 95,696 families or 447,675 people are staying in 1,645 evacuation centers.

Property damage

Damage was valued at P138,552,546.55, including P13,797,500 in infrastructure and P124,755,046.55 in agriculture.

At least 13,191 houses were destroyed while 6,360 were damaged.

Meanwhile, some communication was restored Sunday, Globe Telecom signals were restored in Tacloban City.

But only 20 percent of total sites in the Visayas has so far been restored, while 30 percent of affected sites in Luzon and Mindanao had been restored.

So far, Areas placed under a state of calamity were:

• Dumangas, 
• Iloilo Janiuay, 
• Iloilo Antique province

Source: gmanetwork.com