2 areas in Rizal with 800 evacuees remain unreachable

Two areas in Taytay town in Rizal province with hundreds of evacuees remain inundated and could not be reached by relief and rescue teams, according to Ma. Theresa Rodriguez of the Philippine National Red Cross' East Rizal branch. These are sitios Tapayan and Arenda where at least 800 people stay in five to six evacuation centers. Rodriguez said even six-wheeler trucks could not enter the areas because the flood was chest-high. The areas could only be reached through boats. Data culled by GMANews.TV from various government sources showed that as of Tuesday, 140 people had died in Rizal three days after tropical storm "Ondoy" poured a month's rain on metropolitan Manila and provinces in Calabarzon and Central Luzon. The total number of fatalities may have already risen to over 300, based on GMANews.TV's count. But the National Disaster Coordinating Council as of Wednesday morning placed the death toll at 246. Those who want to help the evacuees in Tapayan and Arenda can contact these nos: 0917-5093051 and (02) 7014362. - ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV