7 dead as 'Pedring' crosses Luzon

MANILA, Philippines – Seven people were killed, five of them residents of Metro Manila, as powerful typhoon "Pedring" crossed Luzon from early morning until this afternoon.

Four of the fatalities include a 63-year-old woman and her three grandchildren - aged 3, 4, and 6 -- who were buried alive by their house toppled by a wall that collapsed as the typhoon lashed the metropolis with strong winds.

The other three includes an unidentified woman in Caloocan City whose house was pinned by a toppled tree; a 59-year-old woman who figured in a vehicular accident and a 1-year-old boy who drowned after falling off a creek in Catanduanes.

At least four people were also reported missing and three others injured, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

The agency also reported that thousands of families were evacuated due to heavy flooding in Luzon, including Metro Manila.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that as of 4 p.m., the typhoon has already moved back to sea. It's eye was estimated at 70 kilometers west northwest of Baguio City.

PAGASA said that the cyclone maintained its strength even as it cross the mountainous areas of Luzon. It was still packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gust of up to 150 kph, enough to bend street signs and small trees.

The storm was moving west northwest at a speed of 19 kph.

Public storm signal No. 3 was still hoisted over Ilocos Sur. La Union, Benguet and Pangasinan. Ten provinces, including Ilocos Norte, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales were placed under signal No. 2

Metro Manila and other areas in Luzon -- Cagayan including Babuyan and Calayan group of islands, Isabale, Quirino, Aurora, Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan -- were under Signal No. 1.

Zero visibility

Pounding rains obscured the view of anyone on the streets as soldiers and police scrambled to safely evacuate thousands of people in low lying areas, where rivers and the sea spilled into shanties, hospitals, swanky hotels and even the seaside US Embassy compound, which was closed Tuesday.

"It's flooded everywhere. We don't have a place to go for shelter. Even my motorcycle got filled with water," said motorist Ray Gonzales, one of thousands stranded by fast-rising floodwaters.

The NDRRMC said that in Metro Manila, flooding was reported in Malabon, Caloocan, Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, Valenzuela, Pasay, Navotas and Marikina.

The metropolis was also hit by an almost whole day power blackout. Classes in all school levels and government work were suspended.

Day after 'Ondoy'

The massive flooding came exactly a day after commemorations were held for the nearly 500 people killed during the onslaught of typhoon “Ondoy” in 2009, which dumped a month's rainfall in just 12 hours.

Typhoon Pedring hit ashore before dawn Tuesday over the boundaries of Isabela and Aurora province in northern Luzon and headed inland with up to an inch of rain per hour, half that of the storm two years ago, said government forecaster Samuel Duran.

The geography of the archipelago makes it a welcome mat for about 20 storms and typhoons forming in the Pacific each year but the latest onslaught still caught many by surprise.

Along the historic baywalk in Manila, cars and buses were stuck and residents struggled through floodwaters as waves washed over the seawall, turning a six-lane highway into a huge brown river. Sidewalks and entrances to buildings were swamped and vehicles stranded along narrow streets.

The Ospital ng Maynila moved patients from its ground floor, where waters were neck-deep, spokeswoman Evangeline Morales said. Hospital generators were flooded and the building had no power since early Tuesday. Emergency workers evacuated river areas in the city that are notorious for flooding.

An Associated Press photographer said soldiers and police in trucks moved thousands of residents, mostly women and children, from the Baseco shanty facing Manila port after many houses were washed away. Male family members were reluctant to leave saying they wanted to guard their property.

The Philippine Stock Exchange and U.S. Embassy were also closed Tuesday. Waters at the gates of the embassy compound, which is located along Manila Bay, reached chest-deep.

The government announced earlier that classes in all levels and work in its agencies were suspended due to the typhoon.

"There was some flooding in the embassy, I don't know the extent. I'm not there right now," said embassy spokeswoman Tina Malone. She said employees on their way Tuesday turned around when told of a decision to close the embassy.

Residents in one neighborhood of Quezon City, fled their homes due to rising water from the nearby San Mateo River, and evacuations were under way along the Marikina River.

Toby Tiangco, the mayor of flood-prone Navotas said it was the first time that water overcame the dike protecting the town.

In the financial district of Makati, a billboard fell on two cars and a bus, causing injuries.

Seasonal monsoon rains have been accumulating and "typhoon winds, strong waves could have pushed water inland," Duran, the forecaster, said. "Land is saturated with rain so the next rain became run-off and was already floodwater.” 

Francis Tolentino, chairman of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, which encompasses the capital's 17 cities, blamed the storm surge for the Manila Bay flooding.

"The wind was so strong so the seawater overflowed and flowed past the embankment and couldn't flow back to the bay because of the embankment," he said, adding that a high tide developing later Tuesday also played a role.

Aquino in Japan, in constant contact with Cabinet

President Benigno Aquino III, on a state visit to Japan, issued a statement saying he had instructed authorities to compile all information about the flooding.

He said the government had carried out preventive evacuations in the central Philippines. Nearly half of the Luzon areas served by the main power distributor were without electricity due to tripping caused by high winds, he said.

"I'm in constant touch with these members of my Cabinet and the executive secretary has been instructed to keep me and the public informed of conditions pertaining as well as mitigation efforts," Aquino said.

The first reported death was a 1-year-old who drowned in the central island province of Cataduanes after falling into a river, the government disaster agency reported. As the typhoon moved into Manila, a mother and child were killed when their house was hit by a falling tree in the suburb of Caloocan, and four were reported killed by a collapsing wall in the suburb of Valenzuela.

Four fishermen were missing while more than 50 others were rescued along eastern shores after their boats overturned in choppy seas.

Forecasters warned of 12-foot-high (4-meter-high) waves.

A tornado in Isabela's Maconancon town ripped off the roofs of at least five houses, injuring two people, police said.

With its immense 650-kilometer cloud band, the typhoon threatened to foul weather across the entire main island of Luzon as it moves across the Philippines toward the South China Sea late Wednesday or early Thursday toward southern China. – with Associated Press, Dennis Carcamo, Angelo Gutierrez