More than 4 million residents of the Bicol region are without power supply today following typhoon Rolly’s ravages.
Due to the strong winds and rain brought by Rolly last week, hundreds of power poles and towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in Bicol were knocked down and almost fell.
According to the National Electrification Administration, here are the number of households in the Bicol region that lost power due to the typhoon:
- Sorsogon – 162,406
- Albay – 197,878
- Catanduanes – 57,218
- Camarines Sur – 377,284
- Camarines Norte- 121,660
There are 916,446 households without electricity, which is said to be equivalent to 4.5 million people.
According to Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella, the restoration of electricity in Catanduanes, Albay, and Marinduque is a big challenge.
The government will send a task force from various cooperatives to the affected areas to repair the damaged facilities.
But even electric cooperatives and the national grid could not promise when electricity will be restored.
On cellphones and internet signals, PLDT-Smart will first send satellite phones to Catanduanes, which is most affected by the typhoon.
Over 4 million Bicol region residents without electricity due to ‘Rolly’
If a link from Catanduanes to Albay is fixed, the Smart signal will return.
Responders need to cross the sea or fly via airplane to bring help to the island-province of Catanduanes.
Globe telecom is confident that the line will be fixed in the coming days.
According to Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua, 90 percent of the entire province’s poles were knocked down by the typhoon.
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año wants to establish alternative forms of communications such as high-frequency radio to ensure stable communications between LGUs and the national government amid disasters.
“Aside from high-tech communication systems like cellphones, satellite phones, we must have an alternate or backup systems like high-frequency radio systems that do not rely on cell sites and sophisticated relay stations but rather on a simple setup that ensure continuous communication with island or isolated local government units (LGUs) during disasters and calamities,” Año said in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Tuesday.