Storm ‘Nanang’ leaves 64 dead, 110 missing in Camiguin

At least 64 people were killed and 110 others reported missing when a tornado caused by typhoon "Nanang" hit the island of Camiguin off Cagayan de Oro City last Tuesday.

Eight people were also reported killed in flashfloods in Cagayan de Oro City yesterday when Nanang, packing maximum center winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph), made landfall before dawn.

Casiano Matela, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, reported that the pre-dawn floods in Camiguin were triggered by heavy rains.

Nanang, with gusts of up to 90 kph and located near Panay island at around 10 a.m., was moving northwest at 15 kph, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Camiguin Gov. Pedro Romualdo told reporters at least 10 people died in Mahinog town, while Matela reported one fatality in the municipality of Catarman.

Matela said flood waters bearing boulders cascaded from Hibok-Hibok volcano into riverside communities in Barangay Ubangon in Mahinog.

Residents reported hearing a thundering waterspout — a tornado over water — before the flash floods, he added.

Matela said a bridge in Camiguin was destroyed by the floods while power lines were toppled by the storm.

Maj. Johnny Macanas, spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said communication lines were cut off and transportation stopped in at least five towns — Catarman, Mahinog, Mambajao, Guinsiliban and Sagay — in the island.

He said a rescue team has been dispatched to Camiguin to search for the victims but that strong winds were preventing them from conducting the rescue operation.

"Military choppers have been dispatched earlier but could not make any landing due to Nanang," he said.

In Legazpi City, Nanang stranded 1,882 travelers at the ports of Matnog in Sorsogon and Tabaco City in Albay.

Rene Agao, acting manager of the Philippine Ports Authority in Matnog Port, said the stranded travelers in Matnog were aboard 39 buses, 46 trucks and 27 cars awaiting ferry boats to take them to Samar.

The other 250 travelers in Tabaco City were in two buses, seven trucks and four cars, he said.

Agao said local officials are monitoring the situation in case the stranded travelers need immediate food and medical assistance.

Manny Azurin, Albay district engineer, said the spillway at Barangay Basud in Sto. Domingo town has overflowed, stranding commuters headed for Tabaco City.

Azurin said a team of engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways had started clearing operations to remove sand and boulders washed down from the mountains by the downpour.

"We are closely monitoring the road network here considering the large volume of volcanic debris at the slopes of Mt. Mayon as well as those deposited at the different river channels here," he said.

PAGASA said by 5 a.m., Nanang was charted over the Visayas, some 30 kilometers southwest of Catbalogan, Samar.

Nanang, moving northwest at 22 kph, was expected to gain strength as it passed over the country.

The second level of a three-step storm alert was hoisted over Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Masbate, Sorsogon, Biliran, Romblon, Panay and the Negros provinces.

The first-step storm alert is in effect over Southern Luzon and Northern Mindanao. – Roel Pareño, Edith Regalado, Celso Amo, Paolo Romero