Improved weather seen as Nando exits Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Improved weather is expected over the country until the weekend as tropical storm Nando left the country yesterday, forecasters said.

Rene Paciente of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the whole country, particularly the Visayas and Mindanao, will have better weather today until the weekend.

However, Paciente said Metro Manila and the western section of central and southern Luzon may still experience light to moderate rains and thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Nando.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, public storm warning signal number 1 remained hoisted over the Batanes Group of Islands.

The center of Nando was spotted 180 km north northeast of Basco, Batanes or 180 km east of southern Taiwan as of 4 p.m.

It packed winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 120 kph.

Nando, the 14th tropical cyclone to enter the country this year and the fourth weather disturbance this month, was forecast to move north at 15 kph.

PAGASA warned the public in the Batanes Group of Islands as well as those in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions against possible flashfloods and landslides.

It also cautioned fishermen against sailing in the seas of northern Luzon due to big waves generated by the storm.

Citing PAGASA data, Paciente said three or four cyclones are likely to enter the country next month.

1 dead from Nando

Nando left one dead and another injured after it battered parts of Luzon and the Visayas this week.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Fernando Briones, 59, of Almagro, Samar, drowned during the height of the storm, while Weller Golloso, 51, of Bulan, Sorsogon, suffered injuries after he was swept away by the current while crossing a river.

The NDRRMC said a total of 2,700 persons or 550 families in 11 villages in Almagro and two barangays in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, were affected by the storm.

Some 77 passengers and 12 motorboats were stranded in Cagayan and Bicol as of yesterday. The storm also damaged a river control system in Magallanes, Sorsogon.

The NDRRMC said seven barangays in Paoay in Ilocos Norte were flooded and the Paoay-Currimao road in Barangay San Juan was impassable to light vehicles as of yesterday.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) prepared P213.8 million worth of relief goods for the typhoon vitims.

The DSWD said loans amounting to P10,000 would be made available for micro-entrepreneurs in poor and not-so-poor communities affected by floods brought by Tropical Storm Maring.   

The agency said the amount would help entrepreneurs restart heir businesses.

Classes, work suspended in Batanes

Work in state offices and classes at all levels were suspended yesterday in Basco, Batanes due to Nando.

Gov. Vicente Gato declared the suspension as the typhoon was expected to hit the island.

Gato ordered the local disaster risk reduction and management council to monitor the damage caused by the weather disturbance.

The Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines ordered the suspension of all flights since Monday while sea travel to the island-municipalities of Sabtang and Itbayat were also prohibited by the Coast Guard.

P10-M crops destroyed in Ilocos

Ilocos Norte, which is still reeling from the effects of Typhoon Labuyo and Maring, lost P10 million worth of crops to Nando.

Reports showed the losses were mostly incurred in the municipalities of Currimao, Paoay, Bacarra, Badoc, Dingras, Nueva Era, and Batac City.

But for farmers in Cagayan’s northern coastal towns, Nando was a blessing as it irrigated their farmlands.

Meanwhile, some 31 passengers of boats plying the route of Camiguin Island in the Babuyan strait and the coastal town of Maconacon, Isabela were stranded in Aparri port in Cagayan due to bad weather.

Earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard warned fishermen and passenger boats against sailing even before Nando unleashed rains and winds in the region.

Last Sunday, a fisherman drowned in the West Philippine Sea in Aparri, Cagayan.

Ronald Irise drowned while he and Eddie Boy Borselino were fishing despite the huge waves in Fuga Island. – With Alexis Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda, Charlie Lagasca, Raymund Catindig, Ric Sapnu, Teddy Molina, Jack Castaño