PHNO-HL: NOY'S CHOPPER MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING / LAGUNA DE BAY NEARS 'ONDOY' LEVEL

NOY'S CHOPPER MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING / LAGUNA
DE BAY NEARS 'ONDOY' LEVEL
[PHOTO -The presidential chopper makes an emergency landing at the
Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) in San Miguel, Tarlac, due to poor
visibility caused by heavy rains. (Photo exclusive to
ABS-CBN News)]
MANILA, AUGUST 11, 2012 (ABS-CBN) By Willard Cheng —It was unusual
sight on an otherwise ordinary rainy day at the highway.
A remote portion of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) served as a
makeshift helipad Friday morning as the chopper carrying President Aquino and
his party made a safe emergency landing due to poor visibility caused by heavy
rains.
The choppers were supposed to land at the AFP Northern Luzon Command
headquarters at Camp Servillano Aquino in San Miguel, Tarlac.
But the President's aerial convoy encountered heavy rains at around 8:50AM,
forcing the presidential chopper to land at the end of the SCTEX in the vicinity
of San Miguel town.
Photographs obtained by ABS-CBN News showed the white chopper bearing the
presidential seal landing on the concrete portion of the highway leading to
SCTEX's San Miguel exit, along with four other choppers accompanying the
presidential chopper.
The other choppers were carrying a number of cabinet secretaries, including
DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, Energy Secretary
Rene Almendras, DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, and Communications Secretary Ricky
Carandang.
Also joining the trip were political allies who are being eyed as senatorial
candidates of the administration: TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva, Aurora
Rep. Sonny Angara, and former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros.
In an interview, Carandang said poor visibility led to the emergency landing
but said that nobody was hurt.
"Medyo lumakas ang ulan nung palapit tayo sa Tarlac and 'yung visibility
naging very low. So nagdesisyon 'yung piloto na imbes na ituloy, ibaba na muna
'yung chopper para just to be safe. Dahil 'yung visibility medyo sumama talaga
e," Carandang told ABS-CBN News.
"Safe lahat. Wala namang nangyaring masama. The landing was smooth. In fact,
hindi mo nga napansin na nagkaproblema because the flight was so smooth. So
magaling 'yung ating mga piloto at wala namang nasaktan," he added.
The incident caused a delay in the President's inspection of provinces
affected by the southwest monsoon but he nevertheless went ahead with his
itinerary.
From the SCTEX, the President then motored by land to the evacuation
center in Barangay Apulid in Paniqui where he led the distribution of relief
goods to some 205 families from Sitio Caturay and Sitio Kamangahan.
"Medyo natagalan lang ho ako kaunti. 'Yung pa-landing ho ng helicopter e
bumaba 'yung tinatawag nilang ceiling," Aquino told the evacuees explaining why
he was behind schedule.
He then proceeded to Sta. Lucia Elementary School in Capas, Tarlac.
In both locations, the President assured the evacuees of the government's
help as the people try to recover from the devastation caused by the southwest
monsoon.
He said that infrastructure projects will be carried out to prevent further
destruction in future storms.
"Ako po'y nagagalak, nakikita ko [na] bagamat nasalanta kayo ay buhay na
buhay ho kayo. Nakangiti pa. At umasa ho kayo, handa ang gobyerno niyong
alalayan kayo't tulungan kayo lahat," Aquino said.
He also thanked the province of Isabela for donating rice to affected
provinces and the province of Albay for sending rescue teams.
The President also thanked a number of private companies for their respective
donations.
The President also motored his way to evacuation centers in Dinalupihan,
Bataan; San Fernando, Pampanga; and Malolos, Bulacan.
Laguna de Bay nears 'Ondoy' water level Inquirer
Central Luzon, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Even with Thursday's fair weather, a swollen Laguna de Bay rose to
within 15 centimeters of its 2009 water level when Tropical Storm "Ondoy"
brought devastating floods to towns around the lake in Laguna.

In Pampanga and Bulacan provinces, residents and local officials have begun
preparing for the anticipated rise of floodwaters and the swelling of rivers as
water from Nueva Ecija and Tarlac provinces starts to drain toward Manila Bay.
The two provinces catch water from the uplands of nearby provinces before it
goes out to sea.

At least 13 more people in Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, Olongapo City and
Pangasinan were reported to have drowned, bringing the death toll from this
week's floods in central and northern Luzon to 20.

Emil Hernandez, a hydrologist of the Laguna Lake Development Authority
(LLDA), said the lake's water level increased to 13.8 meters above sea level
(masl) Thursday morning from 13.6 meters on Wednesday. This was close to
breaching the 13.95-meter reading during Ondoy's onslaught in September 2009.


The normal water level is at 12.5 meters from September to December, and at
10.5 meters during the dry season.

"The areas hit by the flood during Ondoy were the same ones experiencing the
flood," Hernandez said.

Around 217,420 people were affected by the flood in Laguna. This included the
11,972 families currently occupying 152 evacuation centers, according to Laguna
Governor Jeorge "ER" Ejercito.

In a statement, LLDA General Manager Neric Acosta said the agency had
allotted P300,000 as calamity fund for its relief operations in Laguna and
neighboring Rizal province.

Isolated villages

In Laguna's Biñan City, two coastal villages—Dela Paz and Malaban—were
rendered isolated with knee-to-waist-deep water, officials said."

Fishing boats and improvised floaters have replaced tricycles on the flooded
road to ferry residents in and out of Dela Paz.

Norma Parcon, a resident, decided to bring her children to her mother's home
in Pagbilao, Quezon province, when she heard that the flood in her neighborhood
could last for months.

"They can't stay here and not attend school. It would be a waste as my
daughter here is doing great in her class," she said.

Too many evacuees

Parcon and her husband crossed waist-deep waters, pulling an improvised raft
carrying their children to dry land and board a tricycle that would take them to
the bus station.

Cenon Almazora, the village chief, said only 10 to 20 percent of the
community has remained dry. The rest, including the village hall and the health
center, are submerged.

Even the two public school buildings used as evacuation centers were flooded.
"We've already stopped accepting evacuees here because both schools were already
full. The rest are being transferred to another village," Almazora said.

An evacuee, Elizabeth Encialas, 48, said that "unlike … Ondoy that took us by
surprise, the rains this time happened over several days which gave us time to
save our things and evacuate."

People were also "more alert" whenever the water on Laguna de Bay rises, she
said.

Asked if she and her family considered permanently moving elsewhere, Encialas
said "we have nowhere else to go. Besides, people here are already used to the
floods."

Drowning victims

In Pampanga, floodwaters in eight eastern villages of Masantol town rose up
to a meter high at past noon Thursday as the Pampanga River flowed down to the
Manila Bay, former Vice Mayor Bajun Lacap said.

Two bodies were found floating in Barangay (village) Sta. Juliana in the City
of San Fernando.

Renato Fran, an Aeta chieftain in Mabalacat City, drowned while trying to
cross a hanging bridge over the Sacobia River in Barangay on Tuesday. His body
was found in the Parua River in Concepcion, Tarlac, on Wednesday.

In Bataan, Danilo Masangkay, 14, who went missing on Tuesday night, was found
dead in a river in Orion town Thursday, police said.

Reports from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
(PDRRMC) identified the drowning victims in Bulacan as Angelita Quinto of
Balagtas town, Danilo Lopez of Guiguinto town, 6-month-old Exier Kyle Ando
Langres of Malolos City, Roy Cailan of Obando town, and Erjan Roque and Jomar
Laluan, both of San Ildefonso town.

In Pangasinan, the bodies of two drowning victims were recovered from the
swollen rivers of Balungao and San Jacinto towns on Tuesday and Wednesday. They
were Reynaldo Padilla, 37, of Barangay Angayan Sur in Balungao, and an
unidentified man from San Jacinto town.

The PDRRMC said Jason Perdido, 16, was swept away by strong currents when he
tried to cross Sinocalan River in Manaoag on Wednesday.

In Olongapo City, the body of Anthony Ramos was found near the Yacht Club
inside the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday morning. Ramos was one of two
residents swept away by floodwaters early this week.

Breached dike

In Pampanga, the towns of Sto. Tomas and Minalin and the southeastern side of
San Fernando are bound to suffer the fate of the neighboring lahar-buried town
of Bacolor if the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) does not act
fast to divert lahar and water that swamped and breached a 9.6-kilometer dike
below the FVR Megadike.

San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez warned DPWH officials of such a scenario
in a meeting as he appealed for immediate engineering interventions of the
national government.

Some 10,000 households are in harm's way while the North Luzon Expressway
(NLEx) is also threatened, Rodriguez said.

Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda endorsed the appeal of Rodriguez, saying that
as counterpart to the national government's aid, she could mobilize the 3,000
registered quarry trucks in the province to remove silt.

"Sixteen years of heavy sedimentation went this way," Rodriguez said,
referring to the San Fernando-Sto. Tomas-Minalin tail dike.

The dike was built in 1997 after the DPWH completed the FVR Megadike in 1996
to save those towns from lahar flow. It was designed to contain the sand and
water flowing through the Gugu River inside the megadike.

Indiscriminate quarrying in the river has compromised the tail dike,
engineers said. Filled by two weeks of constant rains that turned severe on
Monday, the dike breached on Tuesday, flooding Sto. Tomas and Minalin by up to
1.21 meters.

Landslide warning

In Olongapo City, officials warned residents to be alert for potential
landslides in the villages of Barretto, Kalaklan, East Bajac Bajac and Sta.
Rita.

In Bataan, five power transmission lines in Morong town were damaged by
strong winds, cutting the power supply in the town and at Bataan Technology
Park, reports from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines showed.

In Pangasinan, floodwaters continued to rise in at least three towns on
Thursday, prompting Governor Amado Espino Jr. to deploy teams to evacuate
residents.

The provincial board, in a special session Thursday, declared the province
under a state of calamity.

As of 11 a.m., residents in five areas in the towns of Bugallon, Aguilar and
Mangatarem were being moved to evacuation centers.

Reports from the PDRRMC said at least 23,820 families in 18 towns have been
affected by the weeklong monsoon rains. At least 752 families in seven towns
have been evacuated.

In Dagupan City, nine villages remained submerged due to overflowing rivers.
Reports from Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Tonette
Orejas, Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Greg Refraccion, Robert Gonzaga and Jun Malig,
Inquirer Central Luzon; and Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon

DISEASES STALK FLOOD VICTIMS
More than 2,000 flood victims who have sought temporary shelter in
evacuation centers have fallen ill, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

Inspections by a DOH team at evacuation centers in the National Capital
Region, as well as central and southern Luzon showed that the number of sick
evacuees has reached 2,213.
The leading illness is respiratory tract infection, which causes coughs and
colds.
The DOH is also on alert for a rise in diarrhea cases, which have reached 51,
in evacuation centers.
"Kapag galing sa CR at di nakapaghugas ng kamay at naisubo ito, maaaring
magkasakit ng diarrhea," DOH spokesman Dr. Eric Tayag said.
Other precautions recommended by the DOH include boiling of drinking water
for up to 3 minutes and the consumption of food within 2 hours after cooking to
avoid spoilage.
"Nagbabadya ng panganib ang diarrhea baka may mamatay kapag di nag-ingat,"
Tayag said.
As people leave evacuation centers, the DOH said residents should exercise
the same precautions at home to avoid sickness. - report
from Sol Aragones, ABS-CBN News; ANC
Food shortage prompts flood-hit family to eat rats
ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 08/10/2012 9:10 PM | Updated as of
08/10/2012 9:10 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of families from the flood-ravaged
town of Calumpit in Bulacan are staying in barangay halls and a church that now
serve as evacuation centers.
Several evacuees appealed for more aid as food supply is running out.
"Sana bigyan niyo kami ng pagkain, tubig na pang inumin at kung maaari ay mga
gamot," said one evacuee.
Due to the food shortage, a family in Calumpit is now resorting to eating
rats.
William Elijah caught two rats in the flood, which he said he will bring home
to his father.
"Pinukpok ko '



Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved




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