‘Inday’ leaves 8 dead

At least eight people were killed after Typhoon "Inday" (international name Halong) intensified monsoon rains as it brushed past northern Luzon on its way out of the country, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported yesterday.

The fatalities brought to 58 the total number of people killed in incidents related to the heavy rains and flooding triggered by a series of weather disturbances during the past week, said retired Maj. Gen. Melchor Rosales, OCD director.

The fatalities were identified as Isidro Agustin, 63; Archimedes Domdoma, 55; Luzviminda Domdoma, 53: Patricio Estoesta, 60; Oliver Obillo, 22; Cyrra Joyce Peñalosa, 3; Carmela Rivera, 13; and Mauro de los Santos, 68.

The Domdomas were killed in a landslide while they were sleeping inside their house in Olongapo City.

Agustin and De los Santos, both residents of Bayambang, Pangasinan, died after they were bitten by snakes flushed out by floodwaters.

Rivera, a native of Agoo; Obillo, of Balaon, and Estoesta, of Tubao, all in La Union. drowned in deep floodwaters.

The OCD said Bernadette Rivera, of Bolusan, Dagupan City, and Roger Torio, of Mangaldan, Pangasinan, were both electrocuted by a live wire that was cut by the heavy rains.

Inday, packing winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour, was expected to hit Okinawa, Japan late yesterday afternoon after displacing about 11,000 Central Luzon residents from their homes. More than 2,000 houses were destroyed or damaged.

Inday was the latest in a series of weather disturbances that hit Luzon beginning July 6 when Typhoon "Gloria" induced heavy monsoon rains that caused floods in Metro Manila and Central Luzon.

But the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said much of the country will continue to experience "rainfall episodes" over the first half of the week with the appearance of a low pressure area at the South China Sea, some 460 kilometers off Luzon.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported that more than P400 million worth of agricultural products and infrastructure have been destroyed by the continuing rains.

Among the worst hit are the Ilocos, Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon and Cordillera regions.

Rosales said the government set up 79 evacuation centers which assisted 2,209 families.

NDCC chairman and Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said relief and evacuation operations were intensified to provide the needed assistance to thousands of displaced families.

Reyes said engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are conducting round-the-clock repair work on damaged bridges and roads to restore the normal flow of trade and commerce in severely affected areas. - With AFP