Seniang renders thousands homeless

TARLAC CITY – Over a thousand families in this province were rendered homeless, while 3,000 persons remained isolated as the heavy downpour of typhoon Seniang worsened the already swollen major river channels.

Meanwhile, retired General Virgilio Florendo, executive officer of the provincial disaster coordinating council, said a police officer in La Paz town – SPO2 Conrado Vinuya – died after he was electrocuted while directing traffic along the alternate La Paz-Zaragosa road.

Police authorities in this city were also able to identify yesterday the body of Victor Carreon, 38, of Lingayen, Pangasinan, who drowned after his Honda Civic was swept by strong floodwaters into the marshlands of Barangay San Isidro, Philippine Navy frogmen are still looking for the body of Carreon’s son, Vincent Lloyd, 12.

Other fatalities were identified as Avenue Fronda, 46, of Barangay Sta. Juliana in Capas town, and Ernesto Luis, 27, of Concepcion town. Both drowned in the swollen O’Donnel and Sacobia rivers.

Florendo said that more than 800 families in Paniqui, Moncada and La Paz towns now live in temporary evacuation centers after their homes were submerged and swept away by floodwaters overflowing from the Tarlac and Chico rivers.

Five towns – Pura, Camiling, Moncada, La Paz and Ramos – were declared in a state of calamity by their respective municipal councils, while the towns of Paniqui, Anao, Victoria and Concepcion have been described by Gov. Jose Yap to be in "critical situation" due to rising floodwaters.

In Tarlac City, over 200 families in Barangays San Isidro, Sinait and Sta. Maria have fled their homes as five-to seven-foot deep floodwaters gushed into the villages through breached portions of the Tarlac River’s dikes.

About 1,000 squatter families in Barangays San Vicente and San Nicolas (also in Tarlac) moved to higher grounds, most of them occupying the road shoulder of the Ninoy Aquino Boulevard due to floodwaters overflowing from the Tarlac River.

Isolated for five days now are about 2,500 families in Barangays Bueno in Capas, Sto. Niño in Bamban and San Jose in Gerona due to the swelling of the O’Donnel, Sacobia and Tarlac rivers, respectively. According to Florendo, relief goods are being regularly airlifted by the Armed Forces’ Northern Luzon Command to the affected villages.

Mayor Gelacio Manalang said that the heavy downpour of Seniang has worsened the volume of floodwaters cascading from the slopes of the Tarlac-Pampanga-Zambales mountains into O’Donnel and Tarlac rivers.

Two major routes in the province, the Concepcion-Magalang and La Paz-Zaragosa roads, remained closed to all types of vehicles. Only heavy vehicles were allowed to pass through the Romulo Highway, which links Tarlac to Mangatarem in Pangasinan, as the national road has been submerged by four-foot deep floodwaters overflowing from the Camiling River.

Traffic authorities have been forced to open the Bamban-Mabalacat portion of the MacArthur Highway despite the floods in Bamban and Capas town in order to accommodate motorists traveling between Manila and Northern Luzon provinces.

There have been intermittent power outages in 17 towns being served by the Tarlac Electric Cooperative, as local power officials explained that numerous electric posts were felled by Seniang’s strong winds.

Initial disaster reports have it that infrastructure damage in the province have already reached P50.5 million. Damage to agricultural crops, especially palay, have been initially estimated at P62.94 million, while losses in the fisheries sector have already reached P12.43 million.

Workers in government and private offices were sent home at 12 noon yesterday as the provincial and city governments here declared a "half day holiday" due to the typhoon.