Death toll from heavy rains reaches 15 – PNP

MANILA, Philippines — The death toll from the combined effects of tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay and the enhanced southwest monsoon or habagat climbed to 15 yesterday, the Philippine National Police reported.

According to PNP spokesman Col. Allen Rae Co, seven deaths were reported in Calabarzon due to rock falls or landslides, while two died in Region 1 or Ilocos Region  due to electrocution and drowning.

In Baguio City, six people had died as of yesterday afternoon in Barangay Guisad Surong due to a landslide that buried three houses and involved 13 people.

Nine victims have so far been retrieved from the rubble, including six who were confirmed dead and three who were rescued alive. Four remain missing.

The survivors, a 27-year-old man, a 27-year-old woman and a 77-year-old pastor, were brought to hospital for medical observation.

Those confirmed dead included a two-year-old girl, a nine-year-old girl, a Grade 4 boy, a Grade 12 female student, a female adult and a male adult, whose body was the latest to be recovered.

The PNP deployed 800 personnel and ordered its field units in areas affected by the weather disturbances to remain on heightened alert and intensify preemptive evacuation efforts, while around 10,000 are on standby for possible search, rescue and retrieval operations.

The Philippine Coast Guard, for its part, assisted in the evacuation of almost 7,800 people in several areas affected by the southwest monsoon nationwide.

Co urged residents in landslide-prone areas, particularly in the Cordillera, to heed evacuation orders.

“Things can be replaced, but a life is only one,” Co said, urging residents to prioritize their safety and follow recommendations from local governments.

The combined effects of the monsoon and the two tropical cyclones had so far affected 1,310,000 people.

Of the total, 58,650 individuals were staying in 624 evacuation centers while 39,290 people were being served outside the evacuation centers.

Some of the most affected areas were Pampanga province and Dagupan City, with 463,946 and 90,015 people affected due to flooding, respectively.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said the President instructed government agencies to reach all affected residents, including those who had already returned to their homes.

Marcos also ordered the Department of Health to activate fast lanes for dengue, leptospirosis and other diseases, as hospitals were told to prepare for possible increases in cases in flood-hit areas.

According to Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units had so far provided P39.37 million in assistance to affected communities.

The Office of the Vice President, for its part, distributed relief packs to around 4,000 families affected by flooding in Ilocos Norte.

Highest rainfall in Baguio

The scale of the flooding and other incidents nationwide was underscored by the rainfall recorded in several areas.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Baguio City, where seven people have died as of yesterday, recorded 1,413 millimeters of rainfall from Aug. 1 to 9, the highest nine-day total in the country.

PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said the figure far exceeded Baguio’s normal August rainfall of 963 mm, amounting to nearly a month and a half’s worth of rain that poured down in just nine days.

Iba, Zambales also recorded high rainfall during the same period, receiving 957 mm, equivalent to 103 percent of its normal August rainfall of 929 mm. PAGASA described this as a month’s worth of rain.

Metro Manila, meanwhile, received nearly a month’s worth of rainfall after Science Garden in Quezon City recorded 501.6 mm from Aug. 1 to 9, or nearly 90 percent of the normal 568 mm for August.

Meanwhile, La Mesa Dam in Quezon City has reached its spilling level at 80.15 meters due to heavy downpours.

Residents in low-lying areas of Quezon City, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon and Navotas are advised to stay alert as water levels of Tullahan River may rise due to the dam’s overflow.

Downpours are expected to continue until tomorrow but would be concentrated in Zambales, Bataan and Occidental Mindoro, with rainfall intensity reduced to about 50 to 100 mm.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, state meteorologists said Tropical Storm Peilou was located 3,000 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon, packing winds of 75 kph and gusts of 90 kph while moving eastward at 35 kph. — Helen Flores, Pia Lee-Brago, Andrew Ronquillo, Evelyn Macairan, Artemio Dumlao, Bella Cariaso, Rainier Allan Ronda, Cesar Ramirez, Ric Sapnu