'Mina' death toll hits 22

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from typhoon “Mina” has climbed to 22 with 12 others still missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported yesterday.

Of the missing, five were fishermen from Pangasinan whose fishing boat disappeared in rough seas off the coast of Zambales.

NDRRMC and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) head Benito Ramos said the five fishermen failed to catch up with their 12 colleagues aboard two separate fishing boats F/B Charlie and Patrick Hanz that escaped Mina’s wrath by seeking shelter in the Scarborough Shoal.

Search and rescue operations have been launched for the missing individuals.

Ten of the fatalities were buried alive in landslides in Baguio City, Benguet and Abra while the rest died from drowning.

The NDRRMC said that 11,304 families remained in 24 evacuation centers.

Estimated damage to infrastructure, agricultural crops and fisheries was placed at P1.109 billion. 

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rescued 26 fishermen and passengers in Quezon and Pangasinan.

PCG spokesman Lt. Com. Algier Ricafrente said 12 of the fishermen were rescued at Scarborough Shoal where they took shelter.

Chairman Charlito Maniago of Barangay Cato, Infanta, Pangasinan communicated with the skippers of two motorboats, who told him that the fishermen were safe.

Six other fishermen of motorboat Hannah Elizabeth also arrived safely in Barangay Cato.

The PCG said eight passengers of motorboat Trina were rescued by the maritime agency’s search and rescue team in Quezon province.       

A vast rubbish dump in Baguio City which collapsed during typhoon Mina will be relocated, authorities said yesterday.

The collapse of the Irisan open dump left five persons dead, bringing to 11 the number of fatalities in the Cordillera region, while five others went missing after they were swept away by rampaging waters.

Killed in the trash slide were Jefonnie, 21, and Noel Cael, 18, and brothers Frando, 15, Revuller, 13 and Apolinario Flores, 10.

Still missing were Antonia Tacio, 68, grandmother of the Flores brothers, Apolonio Licupa, 70, Dagul Joaquin, 23, Gregoria Padua, and Roberto Agameng, 62.

“The city government has decided to look for an alternative area for an appropriate dumping site,” said Olivia Luces, regional head of the civil defense office.

Luces said the Baguio residents had been using the open dump, located on the side of a mountain, for decades and squatters later put up shanties below the wall that marked the lower edge of the dump.

Clearing operations are reportedly ongoing at Kennon Road while Asin Road remained closed. The Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road is now open to vehicular traffic.

2 killed, 7 hurt in Gapo landslide

In Olongapo City, two persons died while seven others were hurt yesterday in a landslide caused by heavy rains spawned by Mina.

Lt. Col. Michael Samson, commander of the Army’s 24th Infantry Battalion, said the landslide took place at 8 a.m. at Sitio Tabacuhan, in Barangay Sta. Rita.

The fatalities were identified as Erlinda Macapal, 50, and her daughter Manilyn, 15. Injured were Rogelio, 50, Whayann, 10, and Harry, 15, all surnamed Macapal; Richie Portes, 15, Donita Marquez, 18, and rescuers Norman Bohol, 26, and Dionisio Pano, 38.

A total of 14 families were affected by the landslide and evacuated to a covered court in Barangay Sta. Rita, said barangay chairman Jerome Bacay.

Cagayan Gov. Alvaro Antonio, meanwhile, saw no need to declare the province under a state of calamity.

He said the provincial government can address the damage brought by the typhoon without seeking calamity funds.

The agriculture department reported at least P800-million damage to crops in Cagayan Valley.

Some 20 passengers remained stranded at Port San Vicente in Sta. Ana, Cagayan as the PCG barred light sea vessels from sailing.

Batanes Gov. Vicente Gato said the province incurred some P9.3-million damage to crops. He said Batanes was not directly hit by Mina unlike the eastern part of Cagayan.

Still rainy

Rains will continue to drench Luzon in the next few days even after Mina left the Philippines Monday night and moved to Taiwan, the state weather bureau said yesterday.

Graciano Yumul, supervising undersecretary of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the southwest monsoon will still bring rains over Luzon in the next three to five days.

Yumul said good weather conditions will prevail over the Visayas and Mindanao this week.

He said Mina will likely be removed from PAGASA’s list of tropical cyclone names as its damage reached over P1 billion.

“We don’t want people to recall the horrors brought by the destructive storms,” he added.

Tropical cyclones “Bebeng” and “Juaning” which hit the country in May and July this year were also removed from the list.           

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said families who evacuated at the height of Mina have started to return to their homes.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said at least P7.5-million worth of relief assistance was extended to the typhoon victims from the combined resources of the DSWD, which provided P 1.08 million, concerned local government units (P6.2 million), and non-government organizations (P155,500).

Meanwhile, Sen. Edgardo Angara yesterday underscored the need for international collaboration in improving national disaster mitigation and disaster risk reduction programs.

Angara made the statement amid the devastation caused by typhoon Mina and Hurricane Irene in northern Luzon and the northeast coast of the United States, respectively.

“Two cyclones hitting two different parts of the globe over the same weekend is a clear example of how a changing climate is a growing international challenge,” he said.

“For sure, there are differences between what people experienced in Cagayan Valley or Baguio and what people went through in New Jersey or Vermont. But a problem of this magnitude needs solutions rooted in global cooperation,” he added.

Angara is also chairman of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering, which is pushing for the creation of the Philippine Disaster Science Management Center (DSMC).

As a public-private partnership in disaster mitigation and risk reduction, the DSMC can serve as a venue for collaborations with international partners, the senator said.

No classes in Dagupan

School officials in Dagupan City announced that classes in kindergarten and elementary level in all public and private schools are suspended today as several barangays remain flooded due to rains dumped by Mina.

Alma Ruby Torio, schools superintendent, said there would be no classes today, extending the long holiday for Dagupan pupils.         

City administrator Vladimir Mata also advised students to refrain from wading through floodwaters to prevent leptospirosis and other water-borne diseases.

Avenix Arenas, spokesperson of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Lingayen town, told The STAR that six towns remain under water, namely Sta. Barbara, San Fabian, Mangaldan, Pozorrubio, Rosales and San Nicolas. – With Alexis Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Artemio Dumlao, Bebot Sison, Helen Flores, Eva Visperas, Christina Mendez, Marianne Go, Raymund Catindig, Charlie Lagasca