'Katring' intensifies, but still far to affect RP

MANILA, Philippines - Tropical storm “Katring” (international name Chaba) intensified further yesterday but the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said it was still far to affect any part of the country,

As of 2 p.m. yesterday, Katring was spotted some 770 kilometers east of northern Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph.

Katring was forecast to move north northwest at 11 kph.

It is expected to be 720 km east of northern Luzon this morning; at 660 km east northeast of northern Luzon tomorrow morning and at 700 km northeast of northern Luzon by Thursday morning.

Katring is the 11th tropical cyclone to enter the country this year.

Pagasa said central and southern Luzon and the Visayas would experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms.

The rest of Luzon and Mindanao, on the other hand, would be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds would prevail over Luzon and coastal waters along these areas would be moderate to rough.

Elsewhere, light to moderate winds coming from the southeast to southwest would prevail with slight to moderate seas.

Katring entered the Philippine area of responsibility last weekend, a few days after typhoon “Juan” left a trail of destruction in northern Luzon, claiming 26 lives and destroying crops and property estimated at over P7 billion.

More relief goods

Meantime, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has provided additional relief goods for the victims of typhoon Juan in Palanan, Isabela.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said the relief goods composed of jackets, blankets, bed sheets, clothes, family packs, and boxes of biscuits were airlifted yesterday via a C-130 plane to Palanan.

Soliman said the relief supplies are in addition to the P5.68 million worth of relief supplies sent to Tuguegarao City and Cauayan, Isabela last Oct. 21.

According to Soliman, some 114,618 houses were damaged in Region II alone.

These figures represent 76.95 percent of the 148,954 reported damaged by the typhoon, she said.

As of yesterday, Soliman said there were no more evacuees in Region II.

However, the DSWD-Region II Office continues to serve some 88,566 families or 404,705 people outside evacuation centers, she said.

But in Region III, some 1,587 families with 5,892 people remained inside the 22 evacuation centers specifically in the municipalities of Camiling, Ramos, Anao, Paniqui, La Paz, and Moncada, Tarlac.

To date, Soliman said a total of P24.6 million worth of assistance has been extended to typhoon victims from the National Capital Region, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions 1, II, III and IV-A.

Cordillera lost at least P500 million in agriculture because of typhoon Juan, the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year. – With Artemio Dumlao