Monsoon rains to persist

MANILA, Philippines — The heavy rainfall and flooding due to the southwest monsoon will have a “significant” level of impact in Metro Manila until Wednesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said yesterday.

PAGASA said Metro Manila will be under significant impact starting tomorrow and “the local impacts may vary from location to location.”

PAGASA’s new Severe Winds Impact-based Forecast (IBF) assesses the threat of a tropical cyclone to a specific municipality or city, depending on their exposure and vulnerability.  

The potential damage is then categorized and color-coded based on four “levels of impact severity” – minimal (green), minor (yellow), significant (orange) to severe (red).

The public and local authorities are advised to take all necessary measures to mitigate the impacts of heavy rainfall and flood in their respective localities.

Under significant, several health facilities may be damaged and serious injuries and danger to life may be expected.

Many houses and buildings may sustain mostly moderate to extensive damage.

Several electric consumer connections along with water services may experience interruptions.

Disruptions in road, rail, sea and air transportation may be expected, with many passengers stranded.

PAGASA noted that they are still developing the IBF for floods, storm surges and landslides.

7 killed in Calabarzon

Seven people were reported killed in Rizal and Batangas during the onslaught of the southwest monsoon, tropical cyclone Luis and the low-pressure area in Calabarzon, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-Calabarzon said on Saturday.

The seven were among the 23 people reported to have died of causes related to the weather disturbances.

Meanwhile, one person was reported missing in Batangas City.

The number of fatalities is subject to validation by the Rizal and Batangas municipalities disaster and management clusters, a report said.

A total of 129 incidents of flooding have been recorded, with most currently receding.

Eight landslides, two rock slides, six of soil erosion, one collapsed structure, two drownings, four toppled trees and one electrocution were reported in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal.

Around 766,656 people from 834 barangays in the entire Region 4-A were affected. Of this number, 7,797 people are currently staying in 29 evacuation centers, while at least 4,529 people opted to stay elsewhere.

541 homes damaged

Up to 541 houses were affected in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal due to continuous heavy rain, of which 50 were destroyed while 491 were damaged.

A state of calamity has been declared in Cavite and Rodriguez, Rizal.

8,243 damaged classrooms

The Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday recorded a total of 8,243 damaged classrooms due to tropical storm Maymay and the southwest monsoon, pegging response and recovery funds at P280.091 million.

A situation report released by DepEd’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) stated 1,410 schools were additionally affected.

Of the 8,243 damaged classrooms, 4,888 sustained minor damage while 1,716 had major damage and 1,639 were destroyed.

The amount of P280.091 million would cover the P40.579 million needed for the cleanup and clearing operations for 1,410 damaged schools, and another P239.512 million for the 4,888 classrooms with minor damage.

Included in the damage tally were 19,735 learning materials, 653 information and technology equipment and 13,844 chairs.

The DepEd DRRMS also reported 922 classrooms in 240 schools were being used as evacuation centers, accommodating 7,726 families. — Ed Amoroso, Evelyn Macairan