4 dead as 'Bebeng' drenches country

MANILA, Philippines - Four people were killed as heavy rains brought by tropical storm “Bebeng” continued to drench the country yesterday.

Three people, including two children, were killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Camarines Sur while another drowned in the floodwaters in Leyte.

The fatalities in Camarines Sur were identified as seven-year-old Marco Sanchez, eight-year-old Princess Ruelan and Maribel Ruelan, 19.

Bicol regional police office spokesman Inspector Ayn Natuel said the three perished in a landslide that occurred in Balatan, Camarines Sur, where local officials scrambled to launch rescue and relief missions.

Balatan town Mayor Ernesto Bagasbas said the heavy rains brought by the storm made the road leading to the landslide site at Sitio Ikogan impassable because of the flooding of the spillway in the area.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) added a certain Luis Dingcol, 47, of Carigara, Leyte, had drowned.

Radio reports also said nine people were injured when lightning struck a plane on the tarmac at the airport in Manila during the heavy downpour that began Saturday night.

The state weather bureau hoisted storm warning signals in 31 areas in the country as Bebeng (international name Aere) continued to hover over Luzon.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Bebeng was heading toward Quezon-Aurora area after making landfall over northern Catanduanes yesterday.

Pagasa said Bebeng maintained its strength even after making landfall over northern Catanduanes.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, storm warning signal no. 2 was hoisted over Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Northern Quezon, Polillo Island, Nueva Vizcaya, and Camarines Norte.

Signal no. 1 was still up in Catanduanes, Albay, Burias Island, Camarines Sur, Southern Quezon, Marinduque, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Ilocos Sur, Kalinga, Cagayan and Metro Manila.

The eye of the storm was spotted at 70 kilometers east northeast of Daet, Camarines Norte as of 4 p.m., and packing winds of 85 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph.

It was forecast to move west northwest at 15 kph.

Bebeng is the second tropical cyclone to enter the Philippine area of responsibility this year.

Pagasa acting administrator Nathaniel Servando said Bebeng will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains over Southern Luzon and the Visayas in the next few days.

“(Bebeng) has very slim chance of intensifying due to its interaction with terrain,” Servando said.

Servando added the storm is not expected to trigger the onset of the rainy season associated with the southwest monsoon this week.

The southwest monsoon or “hanging habagat” is one of the criteria used to officially declare the onset of the rainy season in the country.

Pagasa weather branch chief Robert Sawi said the rainy season is likely to start in the second half of May.

Pagasa warned residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes under signals no. 2 and 1 to take all the necessary precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides.

Likewise, those living in coastal areas are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by Bebeng.

The NDRRMC, meanwhile, said more than 100,000 people in various provinces have been evacuated for precautionary measures.

The latest to be evacuated were some 8,600 persons or about 1,700 families in the Eastern Visayas region.

NDRRMC director Ronald Flores said a total of 626 families or 3,130 persons from the villages of Ma-in, Punta, San Isidro, Licuma, Libertad, San Juan, Bagong Buhay and Lao in Ormoc City were evacuated to barangay halls, school buildings, residential houses and chapels after the flood in these areas rose as high as two meters.

In Northern Samar, 1,110 families or 5,550 persons in 20 barangays of Lope de Vega and 100 families or 500 persons in four barangays in Catarman were brought to the municipal hall and residential houses.

Local authorities in Albay have conducted a preemptive evacuation that covered 13,392 households or 63,964 people living in 152 barangays that lie within coastal areas of the eastern seaboard.

Also evacuated were 7,546 families or 34,533 persons living in houses made of light materials and those living close to the shore and in the lahar zone of Legazpi, Daraga, Camalig, Sto. Domingo, and Guinobatan.

More than 2,500 passengers have been stranded in MIMAROPA, Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions due to the bad weather. Of this, 1,400 were stranded in Bicol ports, 335 in Lucena and Romblon, and 825 in Northern Samar. 

Lt. Col. Noel Vestuir, commander of the Army s 20th Battalion, said most of the towns in the first district of Samar still have no power.

He said the south road from Calbayog to Catarman is still not passable due to the rising flood waters.

Vestuir said their units are now monitoring the condition of the highway to provide advisories to commuters.

“We are also coordinating with municipal disaster risk reduction management councils for possible disaster response operations,” he said.

Flores said the NDRRMC Operations Center has been placed on blue alert since Saturday. A blue alert places half of the NDRRMC personnel on standby.

The Army’s 901st Brigade in Bicol has placed two trucks and two squads on standby for possible relief operations.

The provincial police offices in affected areas have been asked to submit regular situation reports to the Philippine National Police (PNP) national operations center.

The PNP Special Action Force - Search and Rescue Company has been placed on alert for disaster response operations.

All Coast Guard districts, stations, and detachments in Central and Eastern Visayas, Southern Tagalog, and Bicol have been placed on heightened alert.

The Coast Guard had barred smaller boats from leaving ports in Catanduanes and nearby areas, leaving 1,379 people stranded.

Some 38 domestic flights were suspended and at least six flights going to Catanduanes and Eastern Samar.

Forecast

Pagasa said the Bicol region, Quezon province and northern Samar will continue to experience stormy weather while the rest of eastern Luzon and Samar provinces will have heavy rains with gusty winds in the next 24 hours.

The rest of central and southern Luzon and Visayas will be cloudy with scattered to widespread rains and thunderstorms that may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

The rest of the country, meanwhile, will be mostly cloudy with scattered rains and thunderstorms.

Pagasa said moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast to northwest will prevail over the rest of Luzon and coming from the west to southwest over the rest of Visayas and Mindanao and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough.

Bebeng is expected to be at 60 km southeast of Vigan this morning, moving away from the country by Wednesday afternoon, some 270 kms north of Basco, Batanes.

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC), on the other hand, is gearing its volunteers for the damage left by Bebeng.

PRC secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said they are on Code Red in preparation for the second typhoon to hit the country this year.

“We expect this to be a big typhoon so we are now on Code Red and tightly watching affected areas,” she said.

Pang said all Red Cross volunteers from affected areas have been alerted to prepare for the typhoon and identify possible evacuation areas if the need for it arises.

Pang also called on the public to closely monitor the weather condition and to undertake the necessary precautionary measures. - With Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos