Topan di Tacloban, Filipina Akibatkan Lebih 100 Orang Tewas
Over 100 Killed in Philippine City Tacloban by Typhoon
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
Manila (B2B) - Lebih dari 100 orang dilaporkan tewas dan 100 orang lagi cedera di Kota Tacloban, Filipina Tengah, akibat Topan Super Haiyan, kata Dinas Penerbangan Sipil Filipina (CAAP), Sabtu.
Direktur Jenderal CAAP William Hotchkiss III, yang mengutip laporan dari personel lembaga itu di lapangan, mengatakan beberapa mayat tergeletak di jalan di dekat bandar udata Kota Tacloban sementara sebanyak 100 orang lagi cedera. Ia meminta untuk dilakukan evakuasi dan tambahan personel medis.
Ia menyatakan laporan dikumpulkan ketika tim tersebut --yang terdiri atas kelompok Keamanan Penerbangan dan personel bandar udara-- mulai membersihkan landasan pacu bandar udara sejak Sabtu pagi.
Tak ada korban jiwa di bandara, tapi saluran komunikasi terbatas akibat listrik padam, kata Hotchkiss.
Ia memerintahkan wakilnya urusan operasi Kapten John Andrews terbang ke Bandar Udara Tacloban, dengan membawa pasokan yang diperlukan, berupa makanan, obat dan perlengkapan lain komunikasi CAAP ke bandara itu, demikian laporan Xinhua.
Bandar Udara di Iliilo, Caticlan, Romblon, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Masbate, Legaspi dan Surigao sekarang kembali beroperasi normal, sementara di Tacloban dan Busuanga masih tutup akibat kerusakan parah setelah diterjang Topan Haiya, yang oleh warga setempat disebut Yolanda, ia menambahkan.
Dinas ramalan cuaca menyatakan hingga pukul 10.00 waktu setempat, inti topan --berdasarkan data yang ada-- berada 549 kilometer di sebelah barat San Jose di Provinsi Occidental Mindoro, Filipina Utara. Topan tersebut membawa angin dengan kecepatan maksimum 175 kilometer per jam di dekat intinya dan hembusan angin sampai 210 kilometer per jam.
Topan Haiyan terus bergerak ke arah Laut China Selatan dan diperkirakan keluar dari Filipina pada Sabtu sore.
Manila - Over 100 people were reported killed and 100 others were injured in central Philippine city of Tacloban alone in the aftermath of super typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) , the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Saturday.
CAAP Director General William Hotchkiss III, quoting reports from the agency's personnel on the ground, said that the presumed dead bodies were lying on the streets near the Tacloban City airport with around 100 more injured and requesting for medical evacuation and additional medical personnel.
He said that the reports were gathered when the team composed of local CAAP members, Aviation Security group and airport personnel started clearing the airport runway since early Saturday morning.
There were no casualties at the airport, but communication was limited due to brownout, Hotchkiss said.
He ordered his deputy for operations Captain John Andrews to fly to Tacloban airport, bringing needed supplies, food, medicine and another set of CAAP communication equipment to the airport.
Airports in Iloilo, Caticlan, Romblon, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Masbate, Legaspi and Surigao are now back to normal operations, while Tacloban and Busuanga were still closed due to severe damage brought by Haiyan, he added.
The state weather forecasting agency said that as of 10:00 a.m. local time, the eye of the typhoon was located based on all available data at 549 km west of San Jose in northern province of Occidental Mindoro. It has a maximum sustained wind of 175 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph.
Typhoon Haiyan continues to move over the South China Sea and is expected to exit the Philippines Saturday afternoon.
