PHNO-HL: 2 DEAD, 6 MISSING IN METRO MANILA FLOODS

2 DEAD, 6 MISSING IN METRO MANILA
FLOODS
[PHOTO -Vehicles
inch their way along flooded España Boulevard in Manila yesterday. VAL RODRIGUEZ]
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, JULY 22, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By
Jaime Laude - Two people were killed and six others remained missing as floods
inundated parts of Manila and nearby provinces while tropical storm "Ferdie"
barreled through Northern Luzon yesterday.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said rescuers were on standby to help
residents evacuate if necessary as creeks and open sewers in Metro Manila
overflowed from overnight rains, swamping nearby slums and causing traffic jams.

The rains began to ease by midday after plunging some areas in almost
meter-deep waters, but OCD chief and National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos said he could not
rule out further flooding as runoff from nearby mountains descends into Manila
Bay.
"All that rain up there would eventually find their way here," Ramos said,
referring to the mountains to the east of Manila.
"We have CCTV cameras to monitor the (Manila) rivers' water levels, and we
have 44 evacuation centers ready and stocked with food and other items by our
local government units," he said.
Army reservists would be called up to help should evacuation become
necessary, Ramos said, while stressing there was no need for large-scale
evacuations at the moment.
Local officials declared a school holiday as intense rains that Ramos said
averaged 30 millimeters per hour swamped parts of Metro Manila and nearby areas.

Ramos said a still unidentified man drowned at a swollen creek in Naguilian,
La Union while rescuers retrieved the body of Jonathan Sagodaquiel who fell into
a river late Friday in Lumban, Laguna.
Four fishermen went missing in stormy waters off Bolinao, Pangasinan while
two children were missing after being swept away in other rivers, he added.
In San Jose, Rodriguez, Rizal, a village riprap at Montalban Heights
collapsed due to continuous rainfall. Nobody was injured and no property was
destroyed because of the incident, Ramos said.
Even as Ferdie was moving away from the country's northwest coast, Ramos
warned heavy rains would still continue.
"While tropical depression Ferdie has slightly accelerated this movement
while traversing Balintang Channel, residents living in low-lying and
mountainous areas under public storm warning signal 1 are alerted against
possible flashfloods and landslides," he said.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) said three provinces remain under signal number 1 as
Ferdie left the country.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, PAGASA said the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur
and Abra were under storm signal no. 1 where winds of 30 to 60 kilometers per
hour were expected within the next 36 hours.
Ferdie was spotted to be at 240 kilometers west-northwest of Laoag City. It
was reportedly moving with maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center, in
a west-northwest direction at 15 kph.
[PHOTO -Students cross a fl ooded street in front of the Manila City
Hall yesterday. EDD GUMBAN]
PAGASA forecaster Jun Galang said Ferdie was expected to be out of the
country at around 9 p.m. yesterday and move toward Hong Kong.
"Even if tropical depression Ferdie would be out of PAR there would still be
rains until Monday... since Ferdie enhanced the southwest monsoon," Galang said.

"It would still be rainy, but the weather would improve and the rains would
not be as bad compared to yesterday (Saturday)," he added.
State weather forecaster Gener Quitlong said the rainfall exceeded 40
millimeters in some areas of Metro Manila.
PAGASA placed 12 cities in Metro Manila under "red warning signal," namely
Parañaque, Taguig, Manila, Mandaluyong, Pasay, San Juan, Quezon City, Pasig,
Marikina, Malabon, Navotas and Caloocan City due to the high amount of rainfall
recorded in these areas.
"Red warning" is regarded as an emergency, meaning the rainfall observation
must be 30 millimeters per hour or continuous rainfall for the past six hours
exceeded 65 millimeters. Serious flooding is expected in these areas.
On the other hand, the Binga Dam in Bulacan released water as a precaution
against a possible overflow, but other dams were still well below critical
level, according to flood forecaster Jimmy Enriquez.
"Low-lying, flood-prone regions in (Manila and nearby provinces) are advised
to take precaution. Usual high-risk areas to flood are advised to evacuate
residents," the NDRRMC said.
Malacañang, meanwhile, expressed hope that local governments would now be
able to adequately respond to the needs of their constituents as heavy rains and
flooding were reported in various parts of the country.
"We just want to, again, remind the people... it's red warning in areas
affected (by Ferdie)," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
Lacierda said local government units (LGUs) should take all necessary
precautions and not just those that were used to flooding like Marikina City.

"The other LGUs hopefully would be able to respond appropriately," he said.

Flooded streets
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said most of the streets
in the metropolis that were flooded by heavy rains have already been cleared.

The MMDA said only the streets in Barangays Pio del Pilar, La Paz and San
Antonio in Makati City remained impassable to light vehicles.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said the streets in these barangays became
flooded after the waterway Estero Tripa de Gallina overflowed.
The MMDA's Flood Control and Information Center (FCIC) also reported Araneta
Avenue in Quezon City, which was flooded to 48 centimeters after the Talayan
Creek overflowed, was also cleared for traffic yesterday afternoon.
The FCIC also reported that the level of the Marikina River remained at 15
meters, near its breaching mark of 17 meters.
With the river water level reaching 15 meters, the Marikina City government
has placed areas of the city near the riverbank under alert level 1 and has
prepared residents for possible evacuation.
The FCIC said among the flooded streets under 48 centimeters were Singalong
Street-Osmeña Extension in Manila, areas around the Manila City Hall, E.
Rodriguez and Araneta Avenue in Quezon City, Quezon Avenue and Maria Clara
Street in Manila, and Taft Avenue-Gil Puyat Avenue.
Also flooded were San Rafael, Boni Avenue, Nueve de Pebrero, San Francisco
Street and the Maysilo Circle in Mandaluyong City.
In Quezon City, floods left the streets of Barangay Roxas, Barangay Socorro,
Barangay Sta. Cruz, Barangay Apolonio Samson impassable to light vehicles. Also
flooded were some portions of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila.
The MMDA also reported gutter-deep flood at the Baclaran area in Parañaque,
and North Avenue and Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City.
Traffic along EDSA also crawled after the P. Tuazon and Aurora tunnels got
flooded up to 20 centimeters.
The heavy rains also caused massive traffic jams and flooding along España
Boulevard, Taft Avenue and the Quiapo area in Manila, stalling thousands of
passengers in the city's main thoroughfares.
The stretch of Taft Avenue became impassable to light vehicles, stranding
hundreds of commuters.
The Philippine Coast Guard, on the other hand, advised fishermen,
particularly in the coastal towns of Northern Luzon, against sailing out even
after PAGASA reported that the storm was already headed out of the country.
Despite reports that the weather disturbance was already leaving the country,
Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo said fishermen should
not be complacent and venture out since there would still be rough seas.
"It would not be safe for the fishermen on the western seaboard in Luzon.
They should first wait for the weather and sea condition to improve," Balilo
said. – With Evelyn Macairan, Aurea Calica, Mike Frialde,
Rey Galupo


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/