'FALCON' BRINGS HEAVY MONSOON RAINS, OVERFLOWING RIVERS, EVACUATION
[PHOTO - OVERFLOWING MARIKINA RIVER]
MANILA, JUNE 26, 2011 (YAHOO) AFP & ABS-CBN - (UPDATE 7 - 1:27 a.m. Saturday) Thousands of residents in Marikina City were forcibly evacuated late Friday afternoon as the Marikina River, swollen by days of heavy monsoon rains aggravated by tropical storm "Falcon," overflowed its banks.
This, as authorities reported 14 people missing, mostly in Bicol region, in the wake of Falcon (international codename: Meari).
Eastern Police District director Chief Supt. Francisco Manalo said a total of 1,123 families, or 7,472 individuals, from barangays Tumana, Nangka and Malanday were taken to different elementary schools.
By 5:30 p.m., he said, the water level of the river had reached 17 meters.
Earlier in the day, when the water level reached 16 meters, 1,197 families or 4,897 individuals were evacuated to shelters in Nangka, H. Bautista, Concepcion Uno, Bulelak, and Malanday.
At around 1:30 p.m. Friday, the La Mesa Dam, the 700-hectare reservoir in Quezon City that supplies much of Metro Manila's water, started overflowing.
Dam manager Teddy Angeles said the water level was five centimeters over La Mesa's 80.15-meter capacity.
Angeles said they raised the "red alert" when the water level reached 79.8 meters and advised government agencies and communities downstream of the dam. The alert level means residents in Barangay Fairview; Polo, Valenzuela; North Fairview; Malabon; and Barrio Marulas in Valenzuela, should evacuate immediately.
"Hopefully the communities heeded the advice of their leaders," he said.
However, a report from Radyo Singko's Alan Lopez past 4 p.m. said many residents along the Tullahan River had refused to leave their homes.
Should water from the dam be released, it will go directly into the Tullahan River north of Manila, which flows through the cities of Malabon and Valenzuela.
An emergency response team from Manila Water, which manages the dam, is ready to help with the evacuation of residents.
14 missing
Fourteen people were reported missing, mostly in Bicol region, at the height of Falcon, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported late Friday.
In its 7 p.m. bulletin, the NDRRMC said 12 persons were reported missing in Catanduanes province: Antonio Bailon, Jason Balingit, Pedro Balingit, Nestor Mandasoc, Jonsy Rodriguez, Denver Sta. Ines, Paquito Tabios, Joselito de los Santos, Rolando Tabios, Joey Mendoza, Jenan Mendoza, and Vicente Tapit.
The missing included 10 fishermen who ventured out to sea before Falcon struck and a woman, Rosa Ordan, who was swept away by flash flooding in Ligao City in Albay province, the NDRRMC said.
In Rizal province, three-year-old Angelica Recome from Golden City Subdivision in the municipality of Taytay was also reported missing.
In Bataan, Region 2 police director, Chief Supt. Edardo Ladao, said a still unidentified fisherman drowned off Mariveles and the body had yet to be retrieved.
Over 200,000 persons or 43,271 families from Metro Manila, Bicol region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon were displaced due to heavy rains and floods. Majority of the evacuees were from Bicol region with 110,073 persons evacuated. Central Luzon had 95,472 evacuees.
Rainy weekend
Although Falcon was expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility Saturday morning, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration warned residents of Metro Manila and several provinces in Central Luzon to brace for more rains over the weekend.
In its 11 p.m. bulletin, PAGASA said Falcon was located at some 410 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes and moving north northwest at 22 kilometers per hour.
This means the storm, which is packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kph near the center with gusts of up to 120 kph, will be leaving the Philippines' area of responsibility by Saturday morning.
Storm Signal No. 1 remained hoisted over Calayan, Babuyan, and Batanes Islands.
Friday's weather was bad enough for Malacanang to order in the afternoon the suspension of work in all government offices in the National Capital Region, except for those involved in disaster response and the delivery of basic services, to allow employees to go home early.
Twister
In the New Manila area of Quezon City, a small tornado injured one person and damaged five buildings, including the home of businessman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., uncle of President Benigno Aquino III, Friday afternoon. Cojuangco was not home during the incident.
The twister downed power lines and trees, ripped off house roofs, and damaged vehicles along Poinsettia, Hemady, and Betty Go-Belmonte Streets.
Twenty-two domestic flights were cancelled.
Friday afternoon, several Metro Manila roads remained submerged by floods, while others were impassable to light vehicles, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported.
MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said Magallanes Village in Makati has agreed to open its gates if the need arises to reroute traffic due to flooding and that talks are ongoing for similar arrangements with other gated villages along EDSA and C5.
The MMDA said the following areas were flooded:
Marcos Highway Delapaz - 6 inches Maria Clara-Araneta - 4 inches
In Makati:
Lumbayao - 5 inches St. Paul Lumbayao - 3 inches Mayapis - 3 inches Lapaz - 10 inches Singkamas - 3 inches Santacruz - 6.7 inches Southside - 12 inches
In Paranaque:
Baclaran Bagong Sikat, Bagong Ilog, and Bagong Lipunan - knee deep Tambo Camp Claudio St., Joseph Quirino - knee deep San Dionisio Quirino, Kabihasnan, Greenhills Phase 3, Kanaynay Avenue, Municipal Annex Main, Olivares - knee deep
The NDRRMC said the following areas in Malabon City were impassable to light vehicles: Mesina in Tenejeros, Merville in Dampalit, Bautista in Panghulo, Adante, Estrella in Tanong, Sitio 6 in Catmon, Ortega and Santiago in Tonsuya, Panghulo Road, F. Nicolas and Vicencio in Niugan, Borromeo and CMU in Longos, Lascano in Tugatog, Don Basilio, and General Luna along Jacinto to Meralco.
In Valenzuela City , the following roads were closed to light vehicles: Barangay Balangkas near Deata Elementary School, the corner of MH del Pilar and Bisig in Brgy. Bisig, Hulo and Puso Streets in Brgy.Coloong, the San Simon Subdivision in Dalandan, Zone 2 in Brgy. Isla, Zone 5 in Brgy. Palasan, the corner of Pasolo and G. Lozano in Brgy. Pasolo, the front of Brgy. Polo, and Brgy. Lingunan from Rubber Master to Dumpsite.
Not 'Ondoy'
Department of Science and Technology Undersecretary and PAGASA acting chief Graciano Yumul said the rainfall over Metro Manila Thursday, measured at a total of 118 millimeters over 18 hours, could be classified as "heavy."
"The rains we experienced yesterday were just monsoon rains. If you're asking if it is similar to "Ondoy" in September 26, 2009, the answer is no," Yumul told InterAksyon.com.
He explained that unlike "Ondoy," Falcon did not hit land in Metro Manila.
"Ondoy," which dumped an estimated 363 millimeters of rain, about a month's average for Metro Manila, in six hours, and spawned a devastating flood that killed hundreds, was a combination of a storm and monsoon rains, according to Yumul.
"Yesterday was just monsoon rain," he said.
Improved weather next week
Metro Manila and residents of Luzon could expect an improvement in weather conditions by Thursday next week, according to PAGASA.
"If 'Falcon' won't change its course, the Philippines will experience cloudy skies and scattered rainshowers until Wednesday. If you want some sun, it will be on Thursday. But tomorrow, Visayas will have clear weather so it's good for outdoor activities," said Yumul.
"Mindanao will have cloudy skies but Central and Northern Luzon will experience heavy rains. So if you're in Metro Manila, better stay indoors," he added.
50,000 fled homes
Some 50,000 people were in evacuation centers in the country on Friday after fleeing their homes following days of torrential rains caused by Falcon, Agence France Presse reported.
More than 3,200 people fled their homes overnight in the capital Manila alone as the storm added to seasonal monsoon rains, bringing massive flooding to city streets, the civil defense agency said.
The swift evacuation of Manila residents as the waters rose overnight prevented any deaths, said Benito Ramos, executive director of the official National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
"It is a good thing we pre-positioned rubber boats. Thankfully, people reacted well. When we told them to evacuate, they evacuated," Ramos said.
In Central Luzon, Falcon affected more than 10,000 families while several areas remain flooded, the Philippine News Agency reported.
The Central Luzon Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) said 10,106 families, or 52,907 individuals, in the provinces of Zambales, Bulacan and Pampanga were affected by floods caused by continuous rains since Saturday.
Floods in Central Luzon
A 5 p.m. bulletin from Camp Crame's National Operations Center said that Barangay Riverside Ibayo in Balanga, Bataan was submerged in floods up to the hip.
In Dinalupihan also in Bataan, the areas of Layac, Daang Bago ang Barangay Mabini, Pita, and the underpass area of the SCTEx were experiencing knee-deep floods.
In Hermosa, the villages of Mambog, A. Rivera, Pulo, Dalungan, and Almacen were all under two to five-foot deep floods.
In the province of Bulacan, the following areas were flooded:
Meycauayan: Brgy. Bayugo, Calvario, Bancal, Gasak, Zamora, Saluysoy, Poblacion & Hulo - 2 feet deep; Marilao: Poblacion 1, Poblacion 2, Ibayo, Abangan Norte, Nagbalon, Tabing Ilog & Abangan Sur - 3 feet deep; Calumpit: Pio Cruzcosa - 1.9 fee5 p.m.5 p.m.t deep; San Jose del Monte: River along boundary of Harmony Hills 1 & Bagong Silang Caloocan City - both three feet deep.
In Pampanga:
Apalit: Purok 2 Brgy. Sampaloc - 3 feet deep; Guagua: Portion of Sto. Cristo - 2 feet deep; Florida Blanca: Cabambalan & San Antonio - both 1 foot deep; Lubao: Brgy. Sta Lucia, San Agustin, Baruya, San Juan & Sta Maria - 3 feet deep; Macabebe: Brgy. Mataguti & Saplad David- both 1 foot deep;
Masantol: Brgy. San Isidro Anac & Matua, Sta Monica, Sto Nino, Pagulaba & Sta Lucia Wakas - 2 feet deep; Minalin: Lourdes & Sta. Maria - both 1 foot deep; Mexico: Brgy. Lagundi - 2.5 feet deep; San Fernando- Sto. Nino Trianggulo, Phase 1, Sta Lucia, San Jose Panlumacan, Sta Monica Subd & San Nicolas - 2 feet deep; San Simon- Brgy Sta. Cruz- 3 feet deep.
In Zambales:
Botolan- Sitio Ampaling, Brgy Paco & Brgy Bangan - both 1 meter deep; Palauig: Sitio Dampay, Brgy Salaza- 1 meter deep; Sta Cruz: Brgys Gama & San Fernando- 1 meter deep.
Class suspension
Classes up to the secondary level were suspended in Bataan, Zambales and Bulacan, while in Olongapo, classes at all levels were suspended.
Although there were no floods on Pangasinan, classes up to the secondary level were suspended in the province on Friday.
The road in Barangay Antipolo, San Antonio, Zambales, was eroded and impassable to all types of vehicles.
In Capas, Tarlac, the RDRRMC said one lane of the Manila North road was closed because of a huge hole in the deck slab of the northbound lane.
Damage to crops was estimated at P1,843,211; fisheries at P20,250 and infrastructure at P60,000, all in Zambales.
In Bataan, the foot of a hill adjacent to the Mariveles High School caved in but no one was hurt.
Several areas in the province were without electricity due to strong wind and heavy rains.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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