DEVASTATING STORM USMAN LEAVES 68

DEAD IN THE PHILIPPINES

The storm struck the Philippines shortly after Christmas, with the
number of fatalities expected to rise

The death toll from a storm that struck the Philippines shortly after Christmas rose to 68 with the
number of fatalities expected to climb even higher, civil defence officials said Monday.

Fifty-seven people died in the mountainous Bicol region, southeast of Manila, while 11 were
killed in the central island of Samar, mostly due to landslides and drownings, the officials said.

“I am afraid this [death toll] will still go up because there are a lot of areas we still have to clear,”
said Claudio Yucot, Bicol civil defence director.

The weather disturbance locally named Usman hit the country on Saturday. While it did not have
powerful winds it brought heavy rains that caused floods and loosened the soil, triggering
landslides in some areas. Many people failed to take necessary precautions because Usman was
not strong enough to be rated as a typhoon under the government’s storm alert system, Yucot
said.

“People were overconfident because they were on [Christmas] vacation mode and there was no
tropical cyclone warning,” he told AFP. Although Usman has since moved westward away from
the country, many affected areas were still experiencing seasonal rains, hampering rescue and
recovery efforts, he added.
At least 17 people are still missing and more than 40,000 were displaced nationwide due to the
storm, the civil defence office said. An average of 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines
each year, killing hundreds of people and leaving millions in near-perpetual poverty.

The most powerful was Super Typhoon Haiyan which left more than 7,360 people dead or
missing across the central Philippines in 2013.
BOHOL EARTHQUAKE (2013)

Two of the Philippines centuries-old churches in the island of Bohol were heavily damaged by
the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the Visayas on Tuesday Morning, October 15, 2013. The
Loboc and Baclayon Church were the heavily damaged structures in Bohol.

The news of the Loboc Church and Baclayon Church damages were confirmed by Jun Dy of the
community rescue group in Bohol. Various pictures of the Baclayon Church already circulated
online through various social media sites.

The Loboc Church in Bohol is the second oldest church in the province which was rebuilt during
the year 1638 after a fire gutted its original structure. The Baclayon Church in Bohol compound
was built in 1595 while the church’s building was from 1729.

The Loboc Church is located near the famous Loboc River, one of the most famous tourist spot
in Bohol. The scenic spot in the Loboc River is also the popular scene of the movie, “Panaghoy
Sa Suba.”
Aside from the Loboc Church and the Baclayon Church, other churches that collapsed after the
Magnitude 7.2 earthquake were Dauis Church, Loon Church and Sto. Nino Church.