1.4 MILLION DISPLACED BY FLOODS, SLIDES / WEEKS OF RAIN LEAVE 47 DEAD
[PHOTO - A boy is rescued from floods in St. Bernard town, Southern Leyte, Philippines. -- PHOTO: AP]
MANILA, JANUARY 15, 2011 (BULLETIN) By ELENA L. ABEN and GABRIEL S. MABUTAS — Massive flooding and a series of landslides caused by continuous heavy rains in Southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao have displaced close to 1.4 million people and killed at least 47, while damage to infrastructure and agriculture has reached P1.5 billion, disaster officials reported on Saturday.
Based on the latest National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) bulletin, 268,079 families or 1,388,830 people in 25 provinces in Regions 4-B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11,12, Caraga, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are now adversely affected by the continuous rains that started last Dec. 29.
Among the 10 affected regions, Caraga (Northeast Mindanao) had the biggest number of displaced persons with 112,096 families or 601,804 people, followed by Region VIII with 66,437 families or 338,469 people. Region 5, the Bicol area, is third with 43,868 families or 223,548 people.
As this developed, Department of Science and Technology (DoST) Secretary Mario Montejo and Undersecretary Graciano Yumul, officer-in-charge of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) led a team of experts in inspecting and determining where to install the country's first ever landslide warning device.
"We are actually inspecting areas in the province that are most susceptible to landslide, to determine where to install our landslide early warning device," Montejo told Manila Bulletin during the DoST inspection.
He said they are prioritizing the installation of the devices nationwide to keep the country from becoming another Brazil where at least 550 persons were killed in a mudslide.
[PHOTO - AFP/File – A passenger jeepney traverses a flooded road in the town of Sto. Domingo, Albay province]
As of 6 a.m. Saturday, the NDRRMC also said the number of deaths due to the floods and landslides has increased to 47, with more fatalities reported in the Bicol region and the Visayas identified as Ricky Villar, 28, of Barangay Payo, Panganiban, Catanduanes; Armando Mallete, 51, of Barangay Amomonting,Castilla, Sorsogon (drowning); Chen Te Hao, 37, Sitio Benguet, Himagtocon, Camarines Sur (landslide); Amelyn Logronio, 9, of Purok Isla, Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental (drowning); and Jose Anonas, 37, of Barangay San Jose, EB Magalona, Negros Occidental.
Four persons remained missing, identified as Ronnie Jupson, 19, of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur; Bartolome Rabonque, 57, of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur; and fishermen Patricio Peregrino and Joseph Soledad of Panganiban, Catanduanes.
Of the total number of adversely affected population, 3,733 families or 18,099 people are still in 80 evacuation centers.
The NDRRMC report signed by its executive director, Benito Ramos, estimated damage to agriculture, infrastructure, and private properties at P1,552,005,494, broken down as follows: agriculture, P417,715,140; infrastructure, P1,083,732,418; and private properties, P20,996,300.
Troops from the 8th Infantry Division (8ID) continue helping victims of floods and landslides in region 8 by delivering relief goods amid heavy rains to families trapped in various areas in Region 8.
Helicopters of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) are being used in bringing trapped families to safer ground.
DoST inspection The DoST conducted an inspection in the municipality of Saint Bernard in coordination with Mayor Rico Rentuza who has placed his locality in heightened alert due to the rains that brought in a volume of water almost double the usual.
Mario Peñaranda, officer-in-charge of PAGASA Tacloban, said that although the month of December and January are always rainy, the volume of rain that poured in the first two weeks of January registered at 511.5 in their rain gauge.
"Yung inulan ngayon for the month of January, masyadong excessive. Nung January 1, nakaregister kami ng 126.4 mm for January 1 only. Tapos yung dito nga, na monitor ko more than 200 mm per day sila. Pero aside from that, nung January 12, yun ang highest namin so far from January 1 to January 12, 176 mm 'yon.
And the total normal value for Tacloban for the month of January is only 288 mm. So far, ang nare-record naming ulan is 511.5 so almost double na ang normal value niya for the month of January," he said.
Yumul said that with a supersaturated soil, landslides are most expected to occur in mountainous areas in Saint Bernard. Montejo said they might complete installing their landslide early warning device by June.
By installing landslide early warning device, the DoST chief said they expect to reduce the number of casualties and save more properties whenever landslides occur.
The DoST-developed device, according to Montejo, is a tube-like device measuring a minimum length of 20 meters, with a sensor in each meter. It is installed vertically below the ground until it touches the bedrock.
FROM THE PHILIPPINE STAR
2 weeks of rain leave 47 dead By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) Updated January 16, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines – Forty-seven people have died in flashfloods and landslides caused by more than two weeks of heavy rains in Southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday.
Eight were injured while around 1.3 million were displaced.
NDRRMC Executive Officer and retired Army Gen. Benito Ramos said the affected areas in Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Western and Eastern Visayas, Western Mindanao, Caraga, Davao region, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have been placed under control of the disaster office.
Military units in the regions are leading search and rescue, and relief operations.
In Maguindano, the Army's Special Forces (SF) have deployed the Hoover Craft Airboats donated by the Australian government to evacuate the displaced residents of Liguasan Marsh. Hundreds of residents of the towns of Talayan and Midtimbang have been trapped for several days because of the flood.
In Samar, Leyte, and Caraga region, military troops are helping in relief operations for flood and landslide victims.
Ramos said damage to agriculture in the affected areas reached P1.6 billion as of yesterday.
----------------------------------------------------------
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
----------------------------------------------------------
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------
