republikang pinoy: Aquino to CNN: Death toll at least 2,500, not 10,000

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Aquino to CNN: Death toll at least 2,500, not 10,000

source: mb.com.ph/
President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday downgraded earlier estimates of possibly 10,000 deaths due to Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) to 2,000 or 2,500.
Aquino, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, said the 10,000 figure is “too much” and probably made by provincial officials who were “too close” to all the devastation to make an objective estimate.

In the interview, Aquino said government agencies still need to reach 29 municipalities more to make an account of their casualties.

“So far 2,000 to 2,500 is the number we are working on as far as deaths are concerned,” Aquino told Amanpour.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRMMC) as of 10:00 p.m of Nov. 12, 2013 placed the number of confirmed deaths to 1,798 individuals, 2,582 injured and 82 missing. At least 1.3 million families or 6.9 million people were affected by the killer howler that was considered the strongest typhoon to ever make a landfall in history.

Aquino also admitted during the interview that much of the provincial government was paralyzed as members attend to their own families’ safety. He told CNN that the national government had to step in the aftermath of ‘Yolanda’ to continue the delivery of vital government services, especially during a calamity.

source: mb.com.ph/