By CESAR JOLITO III
Disaster response authorities have officially terminated large-scale search, rescue and retrieval (SRR) operations for those missing after Typhoon “Tino,” as they agreed to conduct case-by-case search efforts for families who request continued assistance.
“The order will be cut, but families can request a continuation if they are not satisfied,” Donato Sermeno III, director of the Office of Civil Defense in the Negros Island Region (OCD-NIR), said.
Sermeno confirmed that mass search operations, which began on November 4, were concluded following an advisory from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
OCD-NIR stressed that the end of formal operations does not completely halt search efforts.
However, he noted that not all SRR requests may be accommodated since many augmented SRR teams have already been reassigned elsewhere.
Authorities said the shift from mass SRR operations to targeted retrievals marks the beginning of the transition toward full rehabilitation and recovery.
The confirmed death toll in NIR due to “Tino” settled at 95, with 40 individuals still missing.
OCD-NIR clarified that earlier reports indicating more than 100 deaths were due to double entries from separate agency submissions.
Out of the 95 confirmed fatalities, three remain unidentified, while the rest have been matched with names alongside the list of missing persons.
Sermeno emphasized that both death and missing counts remain subject to further validation, as consolidation of reports from local governments, police units and SRR teams continues.
Typhoon “Tino” left widespread destruction across Negros Island on November 4, triggering landslides, flash floods and massive debris flows that buried communities and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents.
More than 700,000 residents across 814 barangays in NIR were affected by the typhoon, according to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
About 139,988 persons were displaced, staying either in 396 evacuation centers or with relatives and friends across the region, data showed.
More than 36,000 individuals from 10,753 families were evacuated preemptively before “Tino” struck.
A total of 53,651 houses were damaged — 44,312 partially and 9,339 totally destroyed, mostly in Negros Occidental.
The total damage to agriculture was estimated at P42.8 million, while infrastructure losses are still being validated.
“Tino” caused widespread flooding and landslides, particularly hitting the central and southern parts of Negros Occidental and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.
Among the hardest-hit areas were the cities of La Carlota and Sipalay City, as well as the towns of Pontevedra, Binalbagan and Moises Padilla, where flooding reached ceiling height in several barangays./CJ, WDJ