State of calamity as floods hit Albay

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The province of Albay was placed under a state of calamity yesterday after two people were killed and about 2,000 people were forced out of their homes due to flashfloods and landslides caused by heavy rains.

An 80-year-old woman and her 50-year-old son were swept away by rushing waters as they crossed a spillway to reach an evacuation center late Wednesday, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said.

“We evacuated them early in the morning but apparently the old woman and her son returned home to get some personal belongings. Before twilight, they were returning to the evacuation center and got stuck on the spillway,” Salceda said.

Salceda identified the fatalities as Lolita Dadap and her son Antonio of Barangay Nagotgot, Manito town.

Heavy rains continued to fall on Albay and other parts of Bicol region for the sixth straight day, increasing the danger of landslides and floods and forcing more people to be moved out of their homes, Salceda said.

The provincial government had begun evacuating people from areas prone to flooding and landslides as early as Dec. 24, he said.

More people will likely be evacuated as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said more rains would come in the next few months in some parts of the country due to the prevailing northeast monsoon.

“We are right now transferring a whole village – 533 people – to an evacuation site,” Salceda said.

Initial reports said as many as 4,000 people have been forced out of their homes due to flashfloods and landslides caused by continuous heavy rains in the region.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) and the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office reported that 818 families, or 3,771 persons, have been evacuated from Manito, Legazpi City, Bacacay, Malilipot, Sto. Domingo, Jovellar, Rapu-Rapu and Tiwi towns.

In Legazpi City, hundreds of residents were evacuated from Barangay Padang due to the flashfloods coming from Mayon Volcano. Padang was the most devastated village during typhoon “Reming” in 2006 with at least 500 people killed.

Rescue teams raced against time to evacuate residents from the villages of Manito town as heavy rains continued.

Some villagers, however, insisted on returning to their houses to watch over their property or get personal items despite the danger, Salceda said.

Salceda stressed the imminent danger of flashfloods and landslides coming from the slopes of Mt. Mayon.

Salceda said the provincial government was preparing a New Year celebration for evacuees, which would consist of food and entertainment, to convince them not to leave evacuation centers.

PAGASA, on the other hand, said more areas in the country would experience above normal rainfall in the first quarter of 2011 that may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

PAGASA officer-in-charge Graciano Yumul said the Bicol region and Eastern Visayas have been experiencing excessive rainfall over the past several days due to the northeast monsoon.

Yumul explained the normal monsoon rains in these areas are being aggravated by the prevailing La Niña phenomenon.

He said that from Jan. 2 to 4, the areas of Dinagat, Siargao, Agusan and Surigao all the way to Zamboanga del Norte would have moderate to heavy rains due to the tail-end of the cold front.

“January, February and March would be extremely wet. We have seen that happen before and we expect it to happen again, so we have to prepare for that,” Yumul said.

Yumul also warned that more typhoons are expected to hit the country next year.

“If we experienced only 11 cyclones this year when normally we have 20 to 23, we expect worst things next year,” he said.

“In terms of mass balance, it has to be always 100 percent… so if we only have 11 right now where are the other 12 cyclones? We really expect the frequency of the storms to be higher next year and they might have an increase in intensity,” Yumul said.

According to Yumul, the country experienced a dry spell in 2007 but the following year was very wet. He said a dry spell also hit the country in 2005 but the previous year was very wet.

“Considering right now we are relatively dry, you would expect 2011 to be wet and we’re seeing indicators,” he said.

PAGASA weather branch chief Robert Sawi said the prevailing La Niña event and the active easterly wind had prevented the development of typhoons in the last quarter of the year. – With Helen Flores, Cet Dematera