At least 32 evacuees have already died since the conflict erupted in this city over a month ago, the chief of Lanao del Sur’s health office said Monday.
Dr. Alinader Minalang, head of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), said the common causes of death among evacuees are diarrhea, severe dehydration, pneumonia and stroke.
Aside from the 32 deaths, he said, they have recorded at least 40,000 evacuees getting ill due to the conditions in the evacuation centers.
“Regardless of what we do, the situation is difficult. They want to go back to a proper room, eat properly, and have [good] mental health. They are too stressed,” Minalang said in Filipino.
Out of 300,000 individually displaced persons, at least 30,000 are in evacuation centers while the others are staying at the homes of their relatives in nearby cities and towns.
Dr. Minalang, meanwhile, denied reports that there is a cholera outbreak in some evacuation centers. He said at least 9 evacuees tested positive for cholera but they were able to contain it.
Residents of the besieged city are not yet allowed to go back to their homes even as some of the areas there have been taken back by the military from occupying terrorists.
Even if many of the areas have already been cleared, we are still on clearing-ops status. There may be Maute living in those homes,” said Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman.
The official added that based on the security briefing they received, terrorists have left explosive devices and booby traps, some can be triggered remotely, in several areas.
The death toll in Marawi has already increased to 507 as the crisis enters its 50th day. Of the total number of deaths, 379 are from the Maute group, 89 from government troops and 39 are civilians.
Republished from ABS-CBN News
