‘Feria’ toll: 85 dead, missing

The toll from typhoon "Feria" rose to 41 dead and 44 missing yesterday, mostly from floods and landslides in the northern provinces which continued to be pounded by heavy rains yesterday.

Baguio City and Benguet province bore the brunt of the damage of the typhoon’s hurricane-force winds and rains, with major roads and bridges still impassable. The death toll in Baguio alone reached 25, including a family of six whose house was buried in a landslide Wednesday.

"Feria" (international code name Utor) battered a wide area of Luzon Wednesday with winds raging up to 170 kilometers per hour before moving out into the South China Sea.

The typhoon later bore down on Taiwan and Hong Kong as it headed toward southern China yesterday.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said more than 175,000 people have been forced out of their homes, with some needing evacuation after being marooned on the rooftops of their flooded houses.

President Arroyo cancelled plans to visit disaster-stricken areas yesterday due to bad weather. She is scheduled to fly to Pangasinan and Abra today to lead the distribution of relief goods to some 36,000 families affected by the typhoon.

Strong winds cut power and telephone lines, flattened homes and left 2,649 barangays in 55 municipalities under water, the Office of Civil Defense Office (OCD) said.

"Air rescue is required in some areas but we cannot risk our rescue pilots now because of poor visibility," OCD spokesman Eugene Cabrera said.

Rescuers said at least 25 people were buried alive by landslides in Baguio. They toiled with hand tools to dig out at least five more people as the city remained without power for the second straight day.

Baguio City Mayor Bernardo Vergara said he will declare the city a "calamity area" to allow Baguio to receive national emergency funds.

"Rain is still pounding us and the wind is still strong, Baguio remains flooded," he said. "There is no electricity here and we are running out of basic necessities like gasoline."

The major roads linking Baguio to the rest of the country have been cut off by landslides.

Vergara said 11 evacuation centers in the city are now housing some 1,213 people. Some 300 displaced persons sought refuge at the Philippine Military Academy in Fort del Pilar.

Baguio’s woes were exacerbated by a landslide that destroyed the operating room of the main city hospital.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Simeon Datumanong has ordered the clearing of roads to Baguio.

"Our field men will be clearing debris blocking the highways," he said in a radio interview.

Buried under mud and rock

Rescuers recovered yesterday six bodies from the rubble of a house in Sto. Tomas Village, Baguio which was destroyed by a landslide Wednesday night.

Killed were Anastacio Duque, his wife Lydia, son Reynaldo, his wife Marjorie and children Remalyn and Miramarie.

The family was at the ground floor of their two-story house when it was buried by rock and mud at around 8 p.m.

Rescuers said the landslide was so sudden they found the corpse of the grandmother in the living room near the radio. They said she was probably listening to storm updates.

Meanwhile, an Army colonel and a companion were crushed to death inside their car in Baguio when a tree uprooted by heavy winds slammed down on the vehicle as they drove in almost zero visibility.

Experts from Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Cordillera Autonomous Region warned yesterday that a hundred homes were still threatened by possible landslides or subsidence triggered by the heavy rains, especially in the Crystal Cave area.

Other danger areas include Dominican Hill-Mirador, specifically Sitio Malaya; the front of the Supreme Hotel along Magsaysay Avenue; Aurora street in Mankayan, Benguet; and Barangay Kitma along Marcos Highway.

Landslides left 13 people dead and 26 missing in the towns of Baguias, La Trinidad, Atok and Tublay near Baguio while one was killed by a toppled electric post in Cagayan.

Benguet Gov. Raul Molintas said the number of casualties caused by mud and rock slides in the past two days could still increase.

"We hope the rains ease a bit as we search for missing people. Some are buried in landslides, and some were swept away by swollen rivers," Molintas said.

In Pangasinan, heavy rains caused the overflow of the Tuboy, Angalacan, Bued and Sinocalan rivers. The Aloragat Bridge in Barangay Bugayong in Binalonan was washed out, forcing the closure of the Manila-North Road in the area.

A police officer manning traffic on the bridge was killed when he was swept away by strong waters. The body of PO2 Marco Valerio of the Binangonan police was found in the nearby town of Laoac yesterday morning.

Waters in Manaoag rose 10 feet as 25 of 26 barangays suffered heavy flooding. In Dagupan City, the downtown area is under knee-deep floodwaters.

In Vigan, Ilocos Sur, 10 bodies were recovered yesterday, casualties of raging floodwaters that hit an eastern barangay.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said rescuers were trying to locate a Taiwanese fishing boat which sent out a distress call Wednesday east of the Babuyan islands. Two Taiwanese and five Chinese fishermen were on the boat.

In Metro Manila, at least 40 barangays in Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela were knee-deep to waist-deep in floodwaters.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development said families living near the shoreline have been evacuated to day-care centers and schools.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said yesterday local government units can use their internal revenue allotments as calamity funds.

Reyes, also chairman of the NDCC, assured local chief executives the national government was ready to augment calamity funds.

"The local executives are principally responsible for disaster preparedness and response in their respected areas. Manila will provide the support as necessary," he said.

As of yesterday afternoon, public storm warning signal No. 1 remained hoisted over the Batanes Group of Islands, Calayan Islands and the Ilocos provinces. Storm signals elsewhere have been lowered.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said monsoon rains will continue to prevail over western sections of Luzon, including Pangasinan, Zambales and Metro Manila. — Felix de los Santos, Artemio Dumlao, Aurora Alambra, Charlie Lagasca, Teddy Molina, Cesar Ramirez, Eva de Leon, Teddy Molina, Ding Cervantes, Jack Castaño, Ric Sapnu, Vic Alhambra Jr., Marichu Villanueva, Jerry Botial, Nikko Dizon, Jaime Laude, Jose Arvilla