'Quiel' now sweeping northern Luzon areas

MANILA, Philippines – The second typhoon to hit the country this week made landfall this morning along the coastlines of Dinapigue town in Isabela province and is now battering northern Luzon areas with winds of up to 160 kph.

Typhoon Quiel is expected to cross the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Benguet and will exit La Union this afternoon.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the gustiness of the storm could raise to 195 kph while moving west-southwest at 26 kph.

It was making a similar path across the saturated Luzon Island as Typhoon Pedring, which earlier killed at least 50 people, left 31 missing and thousands stranded.

Public storm signal was raised in the following areas:

Signal No. 3 (Winds of 101-185 kph)

• Isabela, Northern Aurora, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan

Signal No. 2 (Winds of 61-100 kph)

• Cagayan, Apayao, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Kalinga, Rest of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Zambales, Bulacan, Northern Quezon including Polillo Island

Signal No. 1 (Winds of 45-60 kph)

• Rest of Quezon, Camarines Norte, Rizal, Bataan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Lubang Island, Babuyan and Calayan, Group of Islands, Metro Manila

PAGASA reminded residents in low lying and mountainous areas under public storm warning signals against possible flashfloods and landslides. Likewise, those living in coastal areas are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by the tropical cyclone.

Estimated rainfall over Magat Dam catchment during the passage of Typhoon Quiel is 200-400 mm, while on Angat Dam catchment ranges from 80-100 mm.

On ther other hand, Isabela authorities earlier shut down electricity in the province to prevent accidents from falling power pylons and snapped cables.

The howling winds toppled trees and blew away tin roofs of some houses in Isabela's provincial capital of Ilagan. In nearby Luna township, a bus with about 30 passengers fell on its side on a rice field because of the strong winds, but no one was seriously injured, police said.

"The ground is still supersaturated and it cannot absorb more water," said PAGASA weather bureau chief Graciano Yumul. "This will just flow down to rivers and towns, and there is a big possibility that landslides, flash flooding and flooding could occur."

He urged residents still refusing to leave their homes despite the floods to evacuate because the water was going to rise in the coming hours as Typhoon Quiel dumped more rain.

Bulacan towns isolated

Meantime, residents of Hagonoy town in Bulacan called for help as flooding continue to devastate the area that resulted to the dwindling of drinking water and food supplies.

“We are dying here. Four days of brownout and dwindling drinking water, five feet ang baha, walang masakyan dahil wala ding gasolina ang mga sasakyan,” said STAR Correspondent Dino Balabo, who lives in Hagonoy town, in a telephone interview.

“Ang pamilihang bayan (palengke) ay wala narin. Residents are now restive. Hundreds of people are lining up with water containers at the town proper. No more diesel/gas to power pumps and generators,” he said, adding that he has yet to charge his laptop and cellphone to send stories from his town.

Balabo said only two military trucks are working to ferry out people who are also looking for food.

“Humihingi kami ng tulong sa mga kinauukulan. Kawawa ang mga bata lalo na at may bagyo na naman," he added.

Rising floodwater isolated the coastal towns of Calumpit and Hagonoy where massive rescue and forced evacuation of affected residents continue today.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said that even trucks can no longer reach the two heavily flooded towns.

Watercraft from the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) and rubber boats from different rescue teams continued to extract trapped residents in heavily flooded village, most of which are submerged under five to 10 feet of floodwater.

NOLCOM chief Major General Jessie Dellosa said that aerial rescue operations have been momentarily halted due to bad weather conditions.

He said four helicopters are on stand-by and will resume rescue and relief operations once the weather improves.

“Our rescue operations are ongoing with the use of watercraft and rubber boats. We are also continuously coordinating with the local government units to rescue the affected residents in Calumpit and Hagonoy,” said Dellosa.

The PDRRMO reported that at least 16,774 families in Calumpit and 34,788 families in Hagonoy have been affected by the heavy flooding caused by back floods coming from Nueva Ecija and Pampanga and the release of waters from Angat dam, Ipo Dam and Bustos dam.-- Joey Aguilar, AP, PNA