5 dead, thousands flee as floods hit Palawan
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Five people died when their shuttle van was swept away by floodwaters following incessant rains in Aborlan town, Palawan, on Sunday night, authorities said in a report on Tuesday.
Jeremias Alili, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief, said the van, carrying 12 passengers, was traveling from Bataraza town to this capital city when it encountered heavy floods just as it passed Isaub Bridge, at the Aborlan-Puerto Princesa City border, around 9 p.m.
The fatalities were identified as Michelle Acayan, 34, and two boys, age 6 and 9, who were the sons of van driver Jamal Nasad. Their bodies were found in different areas in Barangay Inagawan here on Monday.
Seven of the passengers were rescued a few hours later.
Alili said witnesses revealed that Nasad stopped the van and stepped out to check the depth of the floodwaters before attempting to drive across. A barangay official monitoring the situation tried to stop Nasad and warned him that the water was still rising, but he ignored the warning.
Investigation showed that the water reached the van’s engine, causing it to stall. Eventually, the van was swept away by the raging flood.
Weather systems
The vehicle was recovered on Tuesday morning in Barangay Kamuning, with Nasad and his wife, Evelyn, still strapped to their seats, already dead.
The floods, caused by rains brought on by the combined effects of three weather systems—the intertropical convergence zone, the shear line and a low pressure area affecting the southwestern side of Palawan—triggered the evacuation of 1,754 families (5,326 people) in the towns of Aborlan, Narra, Sofronio Española and Brooke’s Point.
The mayors of Puerto Princesa City and the towns of Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Sofronio Española, Brooke’s Point and Kalayaan declared the suspension of work in government offices and private establishments, as well as classes at all levels in both private and public schools, on Monday and Tuesday.
The latest report from the City DRRMO showed that 391 families (1,433 people) from Barangays Bancao-Bancao, San Miguel, San Pedro, San Manuel, San Jose, Sta. Lourdes, Tiniguiban, Sicsican, Irawan and Iwahig were taken to evacuation centers.
Sections of roads in Aborlan were closed due to landslides, leaving motorists stranded on Sunday and Monday. Motorists were also stranded on Monday morning along the national highway in Sitio Tagbarungis after floodwaters swamped the road.
Two-day downpour
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather specialist Sonny Pajarilla on Monday said that the nonstop downpour, which lasted for two days over the weekend, reached a record volume of 342 millimeters, breaking the 50-year record of 269.3 mm set in December 1975.
The weekend rainfall volume, he said, was extraordinary and comparable to the amount dumped by Typhoon “Ondoy” (international name: Ketsana), which flooded Metro Manila in 2009.
“Ondoy had an hourly rainfall of 157 mm, but it was spread out over a longer period. Here, we had 150 mm per hour for a shorter duration, so it was slightly less,” Pajarilla said in a Facebook live update by the City Information Office on Monday.
Pajarilla explained that while the heavy rains were primarily brought by the shear line, the situation was aggravated by the low pressure area in the southwestern section of Palawan.
During its regular session on Tuesday, the city council of Puerto Princesa approved a resolution placing the city under a state of calamity.
The declaration was made in response to a request from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council during its meeting on Monday.
The state of calamity declaration will allow the city government to use a portion of its P86-million quick response fund to assist residents affected by the floods.
