The Philippine Online Chronicles

As of Sunday afternoon, the  Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) puts the death toll due to Tropical Storm Sendong (international name Washi) at 652, with 808 people reported still missing.

Hardest hit areas Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities were placed under state of calamity. At least 19,759 families or 108,130 persons are affected by the calamity according to the National Disaster Risk Response Management Council (NDRRMC).

Initial  reports said at least 215 died in Cagayan de Oro and 144 died in Iligan on Saturday, based on body count accounted by the PNRC. The number of casualties are expected to rise as hundreds more remain missing and unaccounted for according to the PNRC. UNICEF Philippines estimates that 43,000 children are affected by the calamity.

TS Sendong dumped 181 millimeters of rain in Northern Mindanao this weekend, resulting in massive flooding that inundated many towns. Officials said the storm dumped more than a month's worth of average rains in just 12 hours. Residents were caught unaware as the floods rose rapidly at around 2 a.m. Saturday, while they were sleeping. Many of the victims were recovered in mud.

NDRRMC Director Benito Ramos said PAGASA gave sufficient warning about Sendong but “complacency apparently set in...” “Storms rarely hit this area and people probably became complacent even though they knew (a storm) was heading their way,” Ramos said in a report.

Sendong is the most ferocious storm to hit the region since the 1970s. Mindanao is rarely hit by storms and residents say this is the worst flood to hit Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities. Sendong entered the Philippine area of responsibility in Northeastern Mindanao last Thursday. It made a landfall in Surigao del Sur. Affected provinces in Mindanao were Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Compostela Valley and CARAGA. In Visayas, Negros Oriental was severely affected, with flooding in Sibulan, Valencia and Dumaguete cities.

As of Sunday early morning, Sendong was located west northwest of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph. It is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility tomorrow morning.

Typhoon victims need food, clean drinking water, medicine, clothing, blankets, mats, water containers and other relief goods.

How to help Sendong victims

Various groups and institutions have set up hotlines and help desks to gather assistance/relief goods for victims of TS Sendong.

• Tabang Sendong. Donations are accepted at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City Front Gate or at the Relief Processing Center at the satellite canteen. Account name: BPI Xavier University. Account number: 9331 0133 63.

• Drop off points for different LGUs and NGOs in Iligan City: St. Michaels' Cathedral, DXIC Radio Station, City Hall, Rizal Park, Calda Pizza Iligan City Branch, Post Office and Paseo Drive

• Sagip Kapamilya ABS-CBN Foundation. Mother Ignacia cor. Eugenio Lopez, Quezon City.

• TV5 Kapatid Foundation Inc. Deposit to BDO Savings Account No. 005310-410164 and Bank of the Philippine Islands Savings Account No. 1443-05333-2 or drop off relief goods at News5 Aksyon Center, TV5 office in San Bartlolome, Novaliches, Quezon City.

• RockEd c/o Mercato+Soderno and Burger Joint in Cainta as drop off points for goods.

• Rural Missionaries of the Philippines:
  

Cagayan de Oro City and Misamis Oriental: Panday Bulig Relief and Rehabilitaion Center Tabang Mindanao Center

12th-22nd streets, Nazareth, 9000 Cagayan de Oro City T/F: +63 (88) 856 6413, pandaybulig@gmail.com, (look for Ms. Beryl Tranco)

Iligan City: Rural Missionaries of the Philippines Northern Mindanao Sub-Region.

Room 01, Kalinaw Lanao Center, 0016 Bougainvilla Puti, Villaverde 9200 Iligan City.

T/F: +63 223 5179, rmpnmr@gmail.com, www.rmp-nmr.org,(look for Ms. Ida Melody Bucog)

Drop off center in Metro Manila: c/o StartArt Project10A Alabama st New Manila Quezon City Mobile: +63926 7112450email: info@startartprject.org or nikkiluna@startartproject.org.

• Kalinaw Mindanao:

To make donations online or through SMS

• Iligan Bloggers Society, Inc. One for Iligan campaign. Contact them here.

• SMART subscribers: Text RED to 4143. Valid donation amounts 10, 25, 50, 100.

• GLOBE subscribers: Text RED to 2899. Valid donation amounts 5,25,50,100 or 300

• Philippine National Red Cross website