By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

WITH four confirmed deaths in the city in its hands from killer typhoon Cosme’s onslaught, the City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) chaired by Mayor Alipio Fernandez, Jr. is constantly assessing the situation to ensure it gets a total overall picture of the calamity.

At 5 p.m Tuesday afternoon, the CDCC has gathered volunteer workers and disaster brigade members along with all barangay heads for another update on relief and rehabilitation efforts at the City Museum which serves as the council’s nerve center.

Fernandez said the death toll from the typhoon stood at four consisting of the three Poseiro children, ages 2 to 4 years old, all of barangay Bonuan and an old man, Jesus Maramba of Bonuan Longos who died on Sunday, the morning after the typhoon’s passage in Pangasinan, from an apparent cardiac arrest.

All public utilities – water, light, telecom – have been invited to the CDCC meetings to report on their operations fro immediate restoration of any disrupted service.

This morning, the CDCC has issued various bulletins and public alerts on the status of public utilities to include advisory for people not to buy stolen lines and telecom properties obtained illegally under pain of arrest or penalties under an emergency situation.

The latest CDCC report by Deputized Civil Defense Coordinator Robert Erfe-Mejia showed the following damage estimates for Dagupan’s aquaculture at some P545 million pesos covering fishpens, fishponds municipal fisheries and other fishing structures.

Damage to crops consisting mainly of downed mango trees, coconut trees and vegetables was computed at P2,464,000.

Some 19,072 houses throughout the city were totally damaged indicating the wide swath of windy fury unleashed by the typhoon. Neighboring Binmaley and Lingayen also reported almost as many houses blown down or unroofed during Cosme’s over two-hour wild swing in the heart of Pangasinan.

The Dagupan Electric Corporation is under extreme pressure to restore electricity even as all it could promise was the reconnection of at least 20 % of primary power lines in the central business district in seven to 10 days.

Secondary lines and the rest of the city will be lighted in “succeeding days or weeks.”