Crewmen of cargo vessel rescued off Batanes

ILAGAN, Isabela ,Philippines  – A cargo ship ran aground in Basco, Batanes at the height of typhoon “Chedeng” on Friday.

The Coast Guard yesterday said all 18 crewmembers of cargo vessel MV Victoria had been rescued and are safe.

Batanes Coast Guard chief Ricardo Abalos said the cargo vessel was trying to dock at the pier in Basco when it drifted some 300 meters after being dragged by big waves and strong winds of Chedeng.

While it avoided the Philippine landmass, Chedeng (international codename Songda) brought widespread floods and several landslides across the country, forcing more than 313,000 people to temporarily flee their homes, officials said.

The death toll from the typhoon rose to three yesterday as rescuers retrieved the body of a miner trapped in a flooded tunnel in Tuba, Benguet.

A 24-hour rescue effort failed to save the miner, Joey Marcos, who was trapped when rainwater flooded the small gold mine, according to Benguet provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Benjamin Lusad.

Two of his colleagues were pulled from the shaft alive late Friday, Lusad said.

Two men also drowned in the Bicol region, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council NDRRMC) said in its latest updated report.

Elsewhere, heavy monsoon rains also triggered a landslide between Barangays Tibang and Birihay of San Andres town in Catanduanes. There was no casualty reported.

The heavy monsoon rains also forced more than 10,000 villagers to evacuate in the towns of Northern Kabuntalan, Kabuntalan, Datu Piang, Guindulungan, Talayan and Sultan sa Barongis, Mamasapano, Pagalungan and Pagagawan in Maguindanao.

Chedeng headed north for southern Japan yesterday with peak winds of 140 kilometers per hour (kph), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

PAGASA weather forecaster Jun Galang said Chedeng has left the Philippine area of responsibility as of 3 p.m. yesterday and is now moving toward Okinawa, Japan.

Galang said Chedeng picked up more speed at 32 kph as it was leaving the country.

At 4 p.m., the eye of Chedeng was located at 600 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes with maximum sustained winds of 140 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph.

Galang added that while the typhoon has left and they have not detected any other weather disturbance that would affect the country, there would still be rains in Metro Manila, Luzon and Western Visayas brought by southwest monsoon.

Although all declared storm signals had been lowered, PAGASA said residents living in disaster-prone areas should be wary over possible occurrence of flashfloods, storm surges and landslides.

Chedeng is expected to enhance the prevailing southwest monsoon that would bring rains over the rest of Luzon and the Visayas, PAGASA said. – With Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan, John Unson