PHNO-HL: SW MONSOON TO DUMP MORE RAINS ON METRO / MAJOR ROADS FLOODED

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SW MONSOON TO DUMP MORE RAINS ON METRO / MAJOR ROADS
FLOODED

[PHOTO- Rescuers paddle their boat to bring residents to drier areas
after overnight rains spawned by typhoon Karen flooded parts of San Juan city
Saturday. The rains flooded low-lying areas of metropolitan Manila forcing the
cancellation of classes and the evacuation of hundreds of residents in affected
areas. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)]
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Helen Flores
& Alexis Romero - The southwest monsoon enhanced by typhoon "Karen" will
continue to bring rains over parts of the country, including Metro Manila in the
next three days, the weather bureau said yesterday.
Administrator Nathaniel Servando of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical
and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said occasional moderate to
heavy rains will continue to prevail over Central and Southern Luzon and Western
Visayas until Wednesday.
However, no low-pressure area is expected to affect the country this week, he
added.
Metro Manila will still experience light to moderate rains and thunderstorms.

The rest of the country will be partly cloudy with brief rainshowers and
thunderstorms.
Robert Sawi, PAGASA weather division chief, warned of possible flooding in
low-lying areas in Metro Manila due to continuous rains.
"We are monitoring a possible cyclone off the Pacific Ocean, but we are not
yet sure if it will enter PAR (Philippine area of responsibility) this week," he
said.
Metro Manila experienced intense and torrential rainfall early Saturday due
to the southwest monsoon, triggering floods.
Karen (international name Sanba) left the Philippines on Saturday night.

[PHOTO FROM DAILY INQUIRER- STREET FERRY: Residents of
Hagonoy village in Taguig City ride in improvised boats as monsoon rains cause
flooding in streets. ARNOLD ALMACEN]
PAGASA warned fishermen in Northern Luzon against venturing into the sea due
to big waves.
Northern Luzon, particularly Ilocos Norte and Cagayan, will experience cloudy
skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms, PAGASA added.
Rough to very rough seas will affect the areas with wave heights expected to
reach 3.4 to 4.5 meters, PAGASA said.
Karen has left at least one person dead and hundreds displaced.

[PHOTO -Commuters wade through a flooded street during
heavy downpour brought by Typhoon Sanba in Quezon City, metro Manila on Sept 15,
2012. -- PHOTO: REUTERS]
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has identified
the lone fatality as Arsenio Bongcales, a 75-year old fisherman from Oppus,
Southern Leyte.
The body of Bongcales, who drowned while fishing last Friday, was found after
two days.
Karen affected 511 persons or 137 families in Quezon City, San Juan and
Valenzuela in Metro Manila, according to NDRRMC.
Of this number, 181 people or 55 families went to evacuation centers, while
the rest sought temporary shelter in houses of relatives.
Local disaster management personnel have distributed relief packs to the
affected families.
Speaking over radio dzBB, NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos said Karen
did not cause significant damage to property.
"We expect nine to 10 more storms until November," he said. "Our preparations
are continuous."
Ramos said every family must prepare a disaster response plan and cooperate
with local officials.
"Everyone, not just the government, should be ready," he said.
The Mindoro West Coastal Road in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro remains
impassable to all types of vehicles, the NDRRMC said. As of yesterday, the road
cannot be fixed due to strong current.
The NDRRMC discouraged fishing boats and small sea vessels from venturing
into the northern and eastern seaboards of Northern Luzon, the eastern seaboard
of Central Luzon and the seaboards of Southern Luzon due to big waves.
FROM THE INQUIRER
3 major roads in Makati, Quezon City, Pasay flooded—MMDA
By Ninay Calleja Philippine Daily Inquirer

[PHOTO -Garbage bags float in almost knee-high-deep flood on Pasong
Tirad, Makati City, on Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012, at 5:28 p.m.
PHOTO BY RICK ALBERTO]
MANILA, Philippines—At least three major roads in Metro Manila were flooded
on Sunday afternoon as a result of the nonstop rains almost throughout the
entire day, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said.
According to reports of the MMDA Metrobase, the south-bound lane of Chino
Roces (former Pasong Tamo) Avenue under the Magallanes Interchange in Makati
City was not passable to light vehicles as of 5:05 p.m. due to tire-deep floods.

Both lanes of the EDSA- P. Tuazon tunnel in Quezon City were under
gutter-deep water since 3 p.m. but remained passable to vehicles as of this
writing.
The MMDA said vehicles on the south-bound lane of the EDSA-Taft Avenue in
Pasay City were moving slowly because of the gutter-deep floods in the area.

Pagasa warns of persistent rains By Jeannette I.
Andrade, Maricar Cinco Inquirer Southern Luzon, Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:31
am | Monday, September 17th, 2012

[PHOTO -Small time entrepreneurs take advantage of ferrying
passengers in the flooded Araneta ave, Q.C. due to typhoon Karen. ROMY HOMILLADA -INQUIRER: Low-lying coastal areas of Metro
Manila were hardest hit, forcing people to leave their homes, the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. At least 10 domestic
flights were cancelled and universities in affected areas called off classes,
the council said. Although the heavy rain eased later in the day, de la Cruz
said the Philippines could continue to suffer heavy downpours until Tuesday.
So far, Karen has caused only one fatality in the Philippines, a
fisherman who ventured out to sea on September 12 but whose dead body was
recovered two days later, the disaster management council said. Storms and
flooding from torrential rain affected more than two million people in August
and killed scores. The Philippines endures about 20 major storms
or typhoons each rainy season]
The "habagat" (southwest monsoon) is not done yet with Metro Manila and other
parts of Luzon as it continues to bring rains, enhanced by Typhoon "Karen,"
which has left the country's area of responsibility and moved on to the southern
part of Japan.
Forecasters warned of possible flash floods and landslides as a result of
intermittent moderate-to-heavy rains expected over the Cordillera Administrative
Region and the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Ecija and Aurora.
On Sunday night, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (Pagasa) warned residents in low-lying areas in Metro
Manila of heavy flooding.
At 6:10 p.m., the weather bureau raised the orange rainfall warning after
heavy-to-intense rainfall (45 mm to 65 mm per hour, or up to 65 liters collected
in one square meter of container in an hour) was observed over the cities of
Manila, Pasay, Taguig, Pasig and Marikina for the past two hours.
The rainfall warning also covered the cities of San Juan, Mandaluyong,
Makati, Taguig, Pateros and the southern portion of Quezon City.
As of Sunday afternoon, at least three major roads in the metropolis were
flooded, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.

Not passable

[PHOTO -Residents paddle their wooden boats next flooded
homes in Manila on Sept 15, 2012. -- PHOTO:
AFP]
The southbound lane of Chino Roces Avenue under Magallanes Interchange in
Makati City was not passable to light vehicles as of 5:05 p.m. due to tire-deep
flooding, reports from the MMDA Metrobase showed.
Both lanes of Edsa-P. Tuazon tunnel in Quezon City were under gutter-deep
water since
3 p.m. but remained passable to vehicles as of press time.
The MMDA said vehicles on the southbound lane of Edsa-Taft Avenue were moving
slowly because of the gutter-deep flooding.
Parts of the metropolis were also flooded on Saturday due to heavy rains,
forcing more than 200 people to leave their homes.
Weather forecaster Samuel Duran told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the
rains pounding Metro Manila was spawned by the enhanced southwest monsoon, which
continued to affect Luzon and portions of the Visayas.
Based on surface and satellite data analyses, the bad weather in the
metropolis is expected to persist until Tuesday, Duran said.
Communities near Metro Manila also saw floods over the weekend.

[Flood victims rest in an evacuation centre after their
houses were flooded with water from overnight rain brought by Typhoon Sanba, in
San Juan, Metro Manila on Sept 15, 2012. -- PHOTO:
REUTERS]
Drowned

The body of a man believed to have drowned amid the heavy downpour was fished
out of San Mateo River in Rizal province before noon on Sunday.
Residents of Barangay (village) Dulong Bayan 1 in San Mateo town found the
body at around 11 a.m., said Vicente Tomazar, director of the Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna,
Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).
"He could have been in the water for two days already. The body was already
bloated," Tomazar said.
Police Officer 2 Jun Angeles of the San Mateo police said the man could have
drowned in Rodriguez town and was swept toward San Mateo.
The weekend downpour caused the water in San Mateo River to rise to 18.20
meters on Saturday morning, Tomazar said. The critical water level is 19 m.
Laguna lake
In Laguna, Jen Sorel Jasareno, head of the DRRMC, said the water level in
still-flooded towns of the province had risen "by a few millimeters" during the
past two days.
"We noticed the flood rose again reaching our garage. Here in Sta. Cruz
(Laguna), most parts are still under knee-deep flood," Jasareno said.
Emil Hernandez, a hydrologist of the Laguna Lake Development Authority, said
water from upland areas and river tributaries caused the flood to rise.
He said the water level stayed at 13.35 m despite the downpour, or half a
meter down from its reading following the monsoon rains in early August.
Tomazar, however, said the downpour would slow down the drop in the lake's
water level.
Lakeshore towns
Last month, the monsoon flooded several lakeshore towns in Laguna and
Rizal provinces and kept some 62,000 people in more than 200 evacuation centers,
according to a report from the DRRMC in the region.
Sixty public elementary and high schools, half of which are also flooded, are
still being used as evacuation centers in Laguna as of September 12, according
to the Department of Education.
Electricity has not yet been restored in the flood-hit areas.
Duran said a low-pressure area had been developing east of Mindanao, but he
assured the public that it was still too far away to have any effect on the
country.
In its 5 p.m. forecast, Pagasa said other parts of the country would have
partly cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, mostly in the
evening.
Pagasa warned of strong to gale-force winds, brought on by Karen, on the
northern seaboard of Luzon, particularly in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan, where the
sea is expected to be rough to very rough.
The weather agency advised fishing boats and other small seacraft not to
venture out into the sea, and alerted larger vessels about big waves. With a report from Niña Calleja


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




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