LGUs admit being caught off-guard by 'Ondoy'

Top officials of Rizal and Bulacan, two of the provinces hardest-hit by "Ondoy," admitted on Monday that they were caught off-guard by the magnitude of the tropical storm's impact. In an interview with GMA News' Arnold Clavio over "Unang Hirit," Governor Jun Ynares of Rizal and Governor Jonjon Mendoza of Bulacan said that while their respective local governments were prepared for calamities, they did not expect Ondoy to wreak havoc on almost all areas within their territories. [See: Epic flood in Metro Manila caused by record rainfall]
"Handa kami for hindi ganitong magnitude ng calamity. Eto halos buong probinsya apektado (We were prepared, but not for this magnitude of calamity. With this almost the whole province was affected)," Ynares said, adding that 80 of the province's 188 barangays were severely affected by the storm. Ynares, however, said he and Rizal Rep. Jack Duavit will meet with the provincial disaster coordinating council and all mayors from the province to better prepare themselves for upcoming natural disasters. [See: Pagasa: 2 more tropical depressions may hit RP this week] Among the towns in Rizal that were hit hardest were Cainta, Montalban, San Mateo, and Taytay, the governor said. Ynares said there are still parts of Cainta that have not been reached by authorities because of the "widespread" calamity and impassable roads. "As of this morning, yung mga napasok naman namin na mga lugar, ayaw naman karamihan magpa-rescue (As of this morning, most of the people in areas we were able to reach did not want to be rescued)," he said. "Ang gusto lang po nila dalhan sila ng gamot, pagkain at inumin (They just want us to bring medicine, food, and water)." In the same interview, Duavit added that the breakdown in communication disabled authorities from immediately reaching those in need. Electric power was shut down in many areas in the province at the height of the storm. NDCC report According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), as of 6 a.m. 86 people have been confirmed dead in Ondoy-affected areas. Seven people were from the National Capital Region, one was from Apayao, 10 were from Bulacan, 12 were from Pampanga, and 56 were from Region IV-A, which includes Rizal. An updated NDCC report as of 12 noon showed that the death toll had increased to 100. According to Mendoza, 63,000 people or 21,000 families from Bulacan are currently in evacuation centers. He also said 23 have been confirmed dead in Bulacan--13 higher than the NDCC tally of casualties in the province. The Bulacan governor said they were also surprised at the magnitude of the storm's impact even though the province had an "award-winning" disaster management team. "Nagulat talaga tayo lahat na hindi naging sapat yung ating mga gamit (We were all surprised that our equipment weren't enough)," Mendoza said, adding that rubber boats had to be maneuvered manually because of the strong flood waves. "Kinonvene na natin kahapon yung ating provincial disaster coordinating council at isa sa mga hiningi natin dahil naman tayo'y nasa state of calamity, gamitin nila yung part ng kanilang pondo para bumili na ng mga gamit na ito sapagkat ito'y simula lamang, hindi maaring maulit ito, at paghandaan na natin ng handang handa tayo," he added. (We have already convened our provincial disaster coordinating council yesterday, and one of our requests, since we're already in a state of calamity, is for them to release part of their funds for the purchase of equipment because this cannot happen again. We have to be thoroughly prepared.) According to the NDCC, 7,908 persons have been rescued as of 6 a.m. through coordinated efforts. However, several people remain missing or are in need of rescuing. [See: List of verified centers for "Ondoy" victims]