Typhoon ‘Rosita’ flattens 600 houses in Isabela

Typhoon Rosita lashed the province of Isabela on Tuesday with strong winds that decimated over 600 houses.

Based on the latest tally of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, 613 houses were totally damaged while 2,614 are partially destroyed.

As the weather improved in Isabela, residents began repairing their houses with many of them salvaging iron sheets that the winds ripped off roofs and carried away.

Scattered sheets of plywood were collected and used to build temporary shelters.

The town of Alicia recorded the most number of wrecked houses at 189.

Meanwhile, the Isabela Electric Cooperative has begun repairs on toppled electric posts and restoration of power supply.

Last time, it took the cooperative 4 days to restore electricity after Typhoon Ompong hit the province.

Since Rosita’s impact was much harsher, they could not say exactly when they can restore power supply for the rest of the barangays.

At present, water supply was slowly being restored while the provincial government continued to assess the damage left by the typhoon. — Joan Nano