News Roundup 02 November 2020
Nov 02, 2020 • 4 min Read
‘Worse than Rosing’: 15,000 families affected, 5 dead in Catanduanes after ‘Rolly’ onslaught | PHILSTAR.COM – The governor of Catanduanes on Monday said then Super Typhoon ‘Rolly’ dealt heavy damage to the province, describing its extent as worse than what was sustained from a similar super typhoon in more than two decades with over 15,000 families affected and five reported dead. Rolly first made landfall in Bato, a municipality in the island province, at around 4:50 a.m. on November 1 shortly after intensifying into a super typhoon with peak winds of 225 kph and gusts of up to 280 kph. At a video teleconference with national government officials, Gov. Joseph Cua said Rolly was stronger than ‘Rosing’ (international name Angela) in 1995 which had the wind speed recorded of 260 kph and left nearly a thousand dead throughout the Philippines. He also reported that the initial number of casualties were a result of drowning while crossing rivers and being reached by floods, with storm surge reaching about 5 meters in height. Power and signal lines too have been cut off, leaving the province with no means of communication as well as short in supply of drinking water.
2,298 new cases drive PH’s COVID-19 tally to 385,400 NQUIRER.NET – The Department of Health (DOH) recorded 2,298 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, driving the country’s caseload to 385,400. Of the tally, 29,301 or 7.6% are considered active cases, the DOH said in its daily case bulletin. Most or 92.1% of the active cases show mild to no symptoms at all. DOH also recorded 87 more recoveries, bringing the total to 348,830, while the death toll rose to 7,269 after 32 more succumbed to the deadly respiratory disease.
Roque defends late ‘Rolly’ briefing: It was a Sunday | PHILSTAR.COM – President Rodrigo Duterte was not in the high-level briefing of government agencies on Super Typhoon Rolly because it was a Sunday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said. Roque led the briefing of Cabinet secretaries on Sunday morning at the office of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, after Rolly made its first landfall in Bato, Catanduanes at around 4:50 a.m. Duterte, who is in Davao, was not present and did not participate in the briefing, even through videoconferencing. Asked why the briefing was only conducted on Sunday or days after Rolly entered Philippine Area of Responsibility, Roque said Monday: “Well dahil inaasahan po nga natin yung landfall kahapon at saka sa totoo lang po araw ng Linggo naman po iyon.” (Well, because we are expecting the landfall yesterday, and honestly, it was a Sunday.)
‘Even God said rest on 7th day’: Sotto, Gordon defend Duterte’s absence in Rolly briefing | INQUIRER.NET – Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Richard Gordon on Monday defended President Rodrigo Duterte after the latter received flak for his absence during the government’s first briefing on its response to Typhoon Rolly. While it would have been “desirable” for the President to be present in the said briefing, Gordon said it is not “necessary” since the Chief Executive can still monitor the situation. “Even God said you rest on the seventh day, right?” Gordon told reporters in an online interview on Monday when sought for a comment. Over the weekend, the hashtag #NasaanAngPangulo topped the Philippines’ trending topic list on Twitter as erstwhile Super Typhoon Rolly slammed Bicol region and Southern Luzon.
Drilon nixes Disaster Resilience dep’t | Manila Bulletin – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has thumbed down proposals to create a Department of Disaster Resilience, saying such calls is a knee-jerk response that would further bloat the country’s already bloated bureaucracy. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Drilon said. “I do not see the need for a full department only for disaster resilience. I believe that an overall plan on the number of department should be in place, instead of a knee-jerk push for a creation of certain departments,” he added. Drilon said what must be strengthened right now is the coordination and planning between and among agencies involved in government disaster response, including a timely access to disaster funds by local government units which are at the forefront of disaster management.
‘Rolly’ batters Bicol: Leaves 7 dead, displaces 390,000 residents | Malaya Business Insight – Super typhoon “Rolly” yesterday battered the Bicol region and other parts of Luzon, leaving seven people dead and a number of areas flooded. At least 390,000 residents in the Bicol region alone have been evacuated before Rolly, the world’s strongest storm so far this year, made landfalls and later weakened into a typhoon. This developed as a tropical storm east of Central Luzon entered the Philippine area of responsibility and was named “Siony.” The storm was still far to affect any part of the country, said weather specialist Chris Perez. As of 10 a.m. yesterday, Siony was some 1,365 km east of Central Luzon, moving west northwest at 30 kph, and packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
