The Palawan legislature led by acting Vice-Governor Dennis Socrates declared a state of calamity on Wednesday, December 22, as the Capitol described a catastrophic worth of loss and damages five days after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.
According to the provincial government, the typhoon caused a number of deaths, the destruction and damages of thousands of houses, thousands of displaced families, hundreds of missing individuals and still unquantified destruction of agricultural crops and livestock in the province.
As more reports come in after the restoration on communication lines, the number is expected to rise.
Following the declaration of the state of calamity, the provincial government can now allocate its calamity fund for the initial rehabilitation of severely affected northern towns in Palawan such as Roxas and Araceli as well as to start repairing damaged infrastructures and bridges to ease the way of expected travellers as the holiday approaches.