Typhoon Odette slashed throughout sevenregions in the Philippines yesterday (18 December), killing as many as 12 humans as heaps had been evacuated, stated the disaster management agency.
The Manila Times reported that the the storm, named "Rai" with winds up to 195 kmh barelled through Mimaropa (Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan); Eastern, Central and Western Visayas; Northern Mindanao; and Caraga.
Ricardo Jalad, Managing Director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Board (NDRRMC) said that a total of 84,674 families or 338,664 individuals have been evacuated in Mimaropa, Regions 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and Caraga.
Early reports indicated heavy flooding and massive damage in the affected areas. Power and communication lines were also down, making it difficult to make an accurate assessment of the extent of devastation.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Command Centre reported 2,910 passengers and 1,551 vehicles stranded in seaports after 112 interisland vessels were not allowed to sail.
The centre also reported power outages in 83 areas in Mindanao and mobile phone service disruption in 369 areas in six regions.
In Iloilo City, Mayor Jerry Treñas confirmed that a 54-year-old woman died after "bamboos fell on the roof of her house" at the height of Odette.
Storm Signal No. 3 was still up late Friday in the northern part of Palawan, Cagayancillo and Cuyo Islands.
In the Visayas, the same storm alert was up in Guimaras, the southern portion of Iloilo, southern Antique, central and southern Negros Occidental, and central Negros Oriental.
Under Signal No. 2 were the southern portion of Oriental Mindoro, the southern part of Occidental Mindoro, Romblon, the southern portion of Masbate, and the central portion of Palawan, Aklan, Capiz, the rest of Antique, the rest of Iloilo, the rest of Negros Oriental, the rest of Negros Occidental, Cebu, Siquijor, and the western portion of Bohol.
In Luzon, Signal No. 1 was up in Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, the rest of Masbate including Ticao and Burias Islands, Marinduque, the southern portion of Quezon, the rest of Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Islands, the rest of Oriental Mindoro, the rest of Palawan and Batangas.
In the Visayas, the same storm alert was up in Eastern Samar, Samar, Northern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte and the rest of Bohol.
Under Signal No. 1 in Mindanao were Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, the northern portion of Zamboanga del Norte, and the northern portion of Zamboanga del Sur.
The typhoon was forecast to cross the Sulu Sea and pass near either Cuyo or Cagayancillo archipelago Friday noon before making landfall somewhere in northern or central Palawan.
Today, heavy to torrential rains will be likely in the Kalayaan Islands and moderate to heavy rains in Catanduanes, Camarines Provinces, Quezon and Aurora.
NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal said the agency was coordinating with local government units in storm-hit areas to determine the situation in the evacuation centers, where the minimum health protocols are not being observed.
Several families living near the Loboc River were trapped on rooftops by floods.
Over 4.1 million children across Eastern and Central Visayas and Northeast Mindanao are affected by the onslaught of Odette, according to the private child welfare organization Save the Children.