Thousands reel from wide ‘Crising’ impact
Expect heavy rains to persist in parts of the country until Tuesday next week due to the combined effects of Severe Tropical Storm “Crising” (international name: Wipha) and the southwest monsoon (“habagat”), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Saturday.
Crising has left a trail of destruction with four individuals reported missing, at least three injured, and more than 100,000 others affected, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported.
In its latest situational report posted on Saturday evening, the NDRRMC said the four missing persons were from Western Visayas, while the three injured were from Soccsksargen.
Landslides and flooded roads were reported across the country with several areas in Western Visayas pushing for the declaration of a state of calamity.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released more than P4.1 million worth of humanitarian assistance to the affected families.
PAR exit
DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said this was only part of the government’s initial aid consisting of family food packs and nonfood items.
Crising intensified into a severe tropical storm and exited the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Saturday morning, but Pagasa said the cyclone could still affect the country and influence the southwest monsoon.
On Saturday afternoon, the weather bureau raised the orange rainfall warning over Metro Manila.
In its 5 p.m. bulletin, Pagasa said Crising has maintained its strength while moving away from the country’s landmass. The center of the storm was last spotted 345 kilometers west of Itbayat, Batanes, outside PAR.
Thousands displaced
It was forecast to “continue to intensify and may reach typhoon category prior to close approach to Hong Kong.”
The NDRRMC said Crising affected a total of 105,313 individuals, or 39,931 families in 546 barangays; around 14,935 individuals were staying in evacuation centers, while over 7,410 others sought shelter elsewhere.
The agency also reported 34 roads and four bridges rendered impassable across the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, and Cordillera Administrative Region. Meanwhile, 41 roads and three bridges were also affected but not entirely impassable.
Incidents of flooding, fallen trees, landslides, and destructive winds were also recorded in affected areas spanning across the Ilocos region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, Caraga, the National Capital Region, and the Negros Island Region.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said localities in the fifth and sixth districts in the province’s southern part were the worst-hit areas.
Mayor Benjie Miranda of Kabankalan City said he was recommending the declaration of a state of calamity for his city to enable the local government to release crucial funds to aid affected residents.
Binalbagan town was also set to declare a state of calamity.
Stranded travelers
In Quezon City, the northbound lane of Katipunan Avenue near the Ateneo de Manila University was closed to motorists after a utility pole fell onto several cars around 11:20 a.m., the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said in a social media post.
A billboard, meanwhile, fell onto two cars on the southbound lane of Katipunan Avenue also near Ateneo.
Crising also left hundreds of travelers stranded in ports across the country.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that 1,280 passengers, truck drivers, and cargo helpers were stranded in 42 ports as of Saturday morning.
“We only found out that all sea travel was canceled when we went to the port before noon yesterday. The ticketing office was closed, and there were no officials assisting anyone, so we had to figure everything out on our own,” Ella Laguna, one of the stranded passengers in the Siquijor port, told the Inquirer.
Landslides
The Philippine Ports Authority suspended trips in affected areas following the PCG’s implementation of a no-sail policy during inclement weather.
In La Union, 209 families, or 692 individuals, from 17 villages were displaced, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported.
It also recorded 14 weather-related incidents in the towns of Bacnotan, Bauang, Bagulin, Caba, Santo Tomas, and San Fernando City.
These incidents included minor landslides, falling trees, and flooded areas, but no casualties were reported.
In the Cordillera, three key arteries traversing Calanasan town in Apayao province were shut down by landslides and by high river water, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Soil collapse has cut access through three sections of the Claveria-Calanasan-Kabugao road along barangays Eva, Namaltugan and Ninoy in Calanasan.
At the Apayao-Ilocos Norte Road, erosions and a “washed out detour road” at an ongoing construction of the Annaran Bridge that crosses Madalagundug River also in Calanasan were being cleared as of noontime.
In Baguio City, Kennon Road remained closed on Saturday because of intermittent rock slides, while parts of the summer capital experienced power supply cuts triggered by fallen trees.
In Benguet province, rescue workers were dealing with a road slip along the Governor Bado Dangwa National Road traversing Kapangan town.
Ipo, Angat dams
In Bulacan, officials alerted residents living in low-lying areas of possible surges of their rivers after the Ipo dam on Saturday breached its spilling level and started to discharge waters.
Manuel Kukban Jr., head of the Bulacan PDRRMO, said that at 3 p.m., Ipo Dam started to release 103.25 cubic meter per second of volume of water after it’s elevation reached 101.56 meters, breaching its 101-meter spilling level.
The PDRRMO has earlier issued an alert for river surges in Baliwag and the municipalities of Norzagaray, Angat, Bustos, San Rafael, Plaridel, Pulilan, Calumpit, Hagonoy and Paombong.
Angat Dam’s level also rose due to the heavy downpour from 191.88 meters above sea level on Friday to 192.10 masl on Saturday. However, it was still 22 meters below the 214.00 masl high water elevation.
In Baguio City, a massive boulder broke loose from a mountainside and rolled down onto a house and a parked car along Kennon Road in Barangay Camp 7, authorities said.
According to the Baguio City Public Information Office, citing reports from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the boulder crushed the house and vehicle but no occupants were hurt as they had evacuated earlier.
But emergency responders said a pet dog, an exotic bully breed, was killed when the boulder hit the residence. —WITH REPORTS FROM CARLA P. GOMEZ, VILLAMOR VISAYA, VINCENT CABREZA, CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE, ALLAN M. MACATUNO AND PNA
