‘Ramil’ crosses Luzon; PAR exit by Monday
Tropical Storm “Ramil” (international name: Fengshen) made the first of at least five expected landfalls on Saturday afternoon, with no clear forecast regarding the path and intensity of the storm other than its slow exit by Monday.
In its 5 p.m. update on Saturday, weather bureau Pagasa (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) said Ramil made landfall at 4:10 p.m. in Gubat town, Sorsogon. Pagasa’s earlier forecast at 11 a.m. on Saturday said the storm’s first landfall may be at Northern Samar, Catanduanes or Albay.
Ramil packed maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 90 kph. This was a slight decrease from Saturday morning’s strong winds recorded at 75 kph while gustiness remained the same at 90 kph.
In its advisory that morning, Pagasa also said the storm was moving west-southwest before proceeding northwest toward Northern Luzon, where it stayed in that direction by late Saturday afternoon.
Ramil “may maintain its strength or slightly weaken due to frictional effects of the mountainous landmass,” the weather bureau said, as it also cited the storm’s proximity to the open sea.
“Once over the West Philippine Sea, further re-intensification is highly likely,” Pagasa said.
Landfall forecast
As in its earlier forecast at 11 a.m., Pagasa said at 5 p.m. the storm’s next landfall by Saturday morning may be in Aurora, northern Quezon or southern Isabela.
It will then “traverse the mountainous terrain of Northern Luzon and emerge over the coastal waters of Pangasinan or La Union [by Sunday] evening,” the weather bureau said.
Ramil is expected to leave the Philippine area of responsibility by 2 p.m. on Monday. Its forecast position by that time is at 450 kilometers west of Batac, Ilocos Norte.
Stranded passengers, vehicles
Meanwhile, more than 4,300 passengers and truck operators (drivers and helpers) and more than 1,200 vehicles have been stranded in 21 ports in Northeastern Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol and Eastern Visayas, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Bicol had the highest number of stranded people at 3,626, according to a PCG advisory, which also reported 1,022 rolling cargoes, five vessels and one motorbanca stranded in the ports of Tobaco, Pioduran, Pasacao, Virac, Cataingan, Aroroy, Mobo, San Pascual, Claveria, Cawayan, Castilla, Matnog, Pilar, and Bacacay, all in the region.
In Southern Tagalog, 107 passengers and 20 rolling cargoes were stuck in the ports of Real, Atimonan and Alabat, while in Eastern Visayas, 655 passengers and 165 rolling cargoes were stranded in Sta. Clara, Dapdap and Looc ports.
Floods, landslides
Continuous heavy rains triggered floods and landslides in several parts of Eastern Visayas.
In Borongan City, capital of Eastern Samar, several villages experienced flooding that rendered major roads impassable, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
In Biliran province, nonstop rains also flooded several barangays in Almeria, while a major road in Barangay Bulalaco, Kawayan town, became impassable due to rising waters. Floods were also reported in the villages of Cabani and Ol-og in Maripipi.
Around 210 families or 802 individuals from flood- and landslide-prone barangays in Naval town were preemptively evacuated to the town gymnasium on Friday afternoon. A landslide was also reported in Barangay Villa Vicenta, Caibiran.
The entire island province still remained in a state of calamity after the devastation of Typhoon “Opong” (international name: Bualoi) late last month which left 12 people dead.
The Department of Health (DOH) placed its hospitals and other facilities under the emergency alert of “code white,” to ensure the ready deployment of its equipment and emergency response teams nationwide.—WITH A REPORT FROM JOEY GABIETA
