While not directly hitting Eastern Visayas, supertyphoon "Uwan" left one casualty and thousands evacuated in a region still recovering from the effects of typhoon “Tino.”
The lone fatality was recorded in Catbalogan City, Samar, where a 64-year-old woman from Pier 2, Barangay 3 died after her home collapsed after being battered by strong winds and waves along the shoreline.
In Catbalogan City, more than 1,103 families, or about 4,209 individuals, were evacuated to safer areas before and during the height of "Uwan."
Meanwhile, the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar have been placed under a state of calamity following reports of widespread destruction caused by the supertyphoon.
The Northern Samar provincial government announced on Thursday that Governor Harris Ongchuan, chair of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), approved on Wednesday the recommendation to declare a state of calamity.
PDRRMC officer Rei Josiah Echano moved for the passage of the resolution in view of the super typhoon’s extensive damage to lives, homes, and infrastructure.
Uwan battered Northern Samar with powerful winds and heavy rains from the evening of November 8 until noon of November 9, displacing 36,843 families or approximately 130,356 individuals, particularly from coastal, landslide-prone and other vulnerable communities.
The PDRRMC also recorded 94,199 affected families across 548 villages, with 16,826 houses partially damaged and 426 totally destroyed, mostly in the municipalities of Biri, Laoang and Rosario.
Rapid damage assessment and needs analysis teams also reported damage to several public infrastructures, including the iconic Pinusilan Bridge, which collapsed after being pounded by massive waves and storm surges.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Samar provincial board also approved a resolution recommending the declaration of a state of calamity in the province following the widespread damage caused by typhoons Tino and Uwan.
The declaration was endorsed by the PDRRMC during its meeting presided over by Governor Ralph Vincent Evardone, after assessing the extent of the destruction left by the two consecutive cyclones.
Initial data showed that 323 houses were totally damaged while 2,529 sustained partial damage. A total of 47,178 families were displaced from their homes.
No casualties were reported in the province.
The initial damage estimates reached P9.2 million in agriculture, P29 million in infrastructure, P730,000 in livestock and poultry and P6.7 million in fisheries.
(With report from PNA)