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AFTER TYPHOON
Boracay starts clean-up
BY NESTOR BURGOS JR.
ILOILO CITY-- Residents, resort staff
and tourists of Boracay Island have started cleaning up the damage wrought
by typhoon Seniang, one of the strongest to hit the island in recent
years.
Cleaners,
including tourists and resort owners, have started removing tree branches,
pieces of iron roofs and other debris along the beach and roads. They have
also started removing sand blown over the front of beach resorts and
restaurants and to the beach pathway.
Electricity,
water and internet connection had been restored as of yesterday, two days
after the strong winds and heavy rain toppled electric posts, uprooted
trees and damaged houses and resorts.
But
it will take about two weeks before operations of the popular
island-resort will be back to normal, Nenette Aguirre-Graf, president of
the Boracay Foundation Inc., a group of owners of resorts, restaurants and
other businesses on the island, said.
Transportation
between Boracay and Caticlan, the jump-off point from the Aklan mainland,
has been hobbled because about 60 percent of passenger boats have been
damaged or missing, said Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores in a telephone
interview.
Miraflores,
who inspected the damage on Monday, said houses, especially those made of
light materials were the worst hit. Resorts and restaurants along the
beach were damaged.
Residents
who lost their homes are temporarily staying at schools or with relatives,
said Miraflores.
Senior
Insp. Christopher Prangan, acting chief of the Boracay Special Tourist
Police Office, said 45 resorts were damaged and 63 passenger motorboats
were damaged or missing.
Around
768 houses have been damaged or destroyed in the island's three
villages--372 in Yapak, 240 in Balabag and 156 in Manoc-Manoc
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