‘Nando’ leaves 8 dead in Cagayan
TUGUEGARAO CITY—At least eight people were confirmed dead in Cagayan province after Supertyphoon “Nando” (international name: Ragasa) battered northern Luzon earlier this week, reports from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and local disaster response agencies on Wednesday showed.
The PCG District Northeastern Luzon (CGDNEL) said three more bodies were retrieved at Barangay San Vicente in Sta. Ana town, bringing to seven the number of fatalities from the fishing boat Jobhenz that capsized after it was hit by huge waves and strong winds as Nando crossed the northern portion of Cagayan.
All 13 crew members of the fishing boat, including the captain, have been accounted for. Six survivors are receiving psychosocial support and trauma debriefing from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Lt. Junior Grade Anabel Paet, CGDNEL commander, said the crew members tried to seek shelter at the San Vicente port on Monday but were struck by huge waves triggered by Nando’s storm surge, causing their vessel to capsize.
The fishermen were mostly residents of Quezon province and Camarines Norte, while one of the fatalities was from Barangay Casambalangan in Sta. Ana.
Survivor Ronaldo Roldan said he and several companions hid inside the boat’s engine room for hours without food or water.
“Luckily, we were rescued before we lost hope and died of hunger,” he told rescuers, adding that surviving the ordeal felt like a “miracle.”
Boat owner Rommel Juanaya, who was not on board, said his only prayer now was for the victims’ families to find closure. “Never mind the boat—it can be replaced,” he said.
In Calayan town, a village watchman from Babuyan Claro died when a tree fell on him while he was patrolling on Monday night at the height of Nando. His name was withheld pending notification of relatives living in mainland Cagayan.
Neighbors recovered his body on Tuesday and took it to an evacuation center, where a wake is being held, according to local school head Bernie Nuñez.
“The damage here is so grave that almost all houses lost their roofs, including the church that served as an evacuation center,” Nuñez said, describing Nando as the “strongest ever” storm he had experienced.
“Even school buildings that [withstood past typhoons] were not spared,” he said.
Meanwhile, areas covered by 13 electric cooperatives continued to experience partial outages due to the onslaught of Nando.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA), in a report on Wednesday, said these electric cooperatives were operating in the provinces of Abra, Bataan, Batangas, Batanes, Benguet, Cagayan, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Mountain Province and Zambales.
Restoration efforts were ongoing for about 307,000 households, the NEA added.
S. Luzon braces for ‘Opong’
As northern Luzon reels from Nando’s destruction, officials in the Bicol region have begun preparations for Tropical Storm “Opong,” which could make landfall by Friday afternoon.
Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Raymond “Lray” Villafuerte Jr. ordered preemptive evacuations in flood- and landslide-prone areas, instructing local officials and disaster response units to relocate residents no later than Thursday midnight.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has projected 100 to 200 millimeters of rainfall in the province between Thursday noon and Saturday noon.
Bicol University also suspended in-person classes on Wednesday to give students time to return home ahead of Opong’s landfall. University president Baby Boy Benjamin Nebres III said classes would be suspended on Thursday.
Pagasa on Wednesday said Opong was last spotted 855 kilometers east of northeastern Mindanao and was forecast to move west-northwestward toward Eastern Visayas and Southern Luzon. It will cross Southern Luzon from Friday to Saturday, and possibly exit the Philippine area of responsibility by late Saturday or Sunday morning. WITH REPORTS FROM MICHAEL JAUCIAN, MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES AND LISBET ESMAEL
