‘Reming’ returns: death toll climbs

After weakening into a tropical storm and briefly leaving the Philippines, "Reming" intensified into a typhoon and veered back into the country yesterday.

As the death toll from Reming’s rampage rose to 19 yesterday, disaster officials said they expected the typhoon to wreak more havoc.

"We now have 19 deaths, but we still have to receive reports from some areas in the northern part of Luzon," said Melgabal Capistrano, an official of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), predicting the body count to rise.

Five people were reported buried by garbage landslides in San Mateo, Rizal and three others were washed away by fierce floods in Cavite, rescue officials said.

Weather forecasters have spotted a low-pressure area about 1,220 kilometers east of Mindanao, which could intensify within the next 12 to 24 hours and threaten the Visayas and southern Luzon, where Reming made landfall last Saturday.

"The public and disaster coordinating councils concerned are advised to take appropriate action," the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its advisory.

Weather forecasters said Reming (international code name Xangsane) changed course and headed northeast for Northern Luzon after leaving the tip of the Bataan peninsula and intensifying over the South China Sea.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Reming was charted at 170 kilometers west-northwest of Dagupan City in Pangasinan, packing sustained center winds of 130 kilometers per hour and gusts of 160 kph.

Moving at 9 kph, Reming is expected to be 370 kilometers west of Ilocos Sur by this morning, although it is likely to gain strength within the next 12 to 18 hours, the PAGASA said.

Public Storm Signal No. 2 was raised over Zambales, Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Mt. Province, Ilocos Norte and Sur. Signal No. 1 was hoisted over Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Cagayan and the Batanes islands.

Sea vessels were advised not to venture into typhoon-affected areas as coastal waters will be rough and dangerous.

Disaster officials said the number of refugees in Metro Manila and several nearby provinces shot up to 130,000, most of whom were forced from their homes by floods. Nearly 25,000 people were evacuated to safer grounds.

The number of missing people also went up to 46, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said yesterday.

Seven students from Centro Escolar University who went mountain-climbing and got stranded on Mt. Banahaw in Quezon were picked up yesterday by an Army helicopter dispatched to search for them. They were all in good condition.

Many parts of the capital were still submerged in "floodwaters ranging from one foot to waist deep," the OCD said.

Flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were delayed for the third straight day as many airport personnel were stranded by floods and could not make it to work.

Damage to crops and infrastructure has reached P640 million, the OCD added. However, Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara said the damage to rice crops was minimal because 65 percent of the expected yield for the fourth quarter had already been harvested.

Capistrano said some provinces have already declared a "state of calamity" in their areas, many of which were still without electricity.

Marinduque Gov. Carmencita Reyes appealed on government television for help, saying the entire island-province has been without power.

Several key roads and bridges in provinces from northern to southern Luzon remained impassable because of floods, landslides, or fallen trees or electric posts.

Scenic Kennon Road in Benguet was closed to traffic because of landslides but other roads going in and out of Baguio City remained passable. – With reports from Benjie Villa, Paolo Romero, Ding Cervantes, Eva de Leon, Cesar Ramirez, Ella Oducayen, Celso Amo, Cecille Suerte Felipe, James Mananghaya, Jaime Laude, Ric Sapnu, Jerry Botial, Leo Solinap, Rocel Felix, AFP