Fair weather until Christmas

MANILA, Philippines - With Tropical Depression Onyok dissipating yesterday, generally fair weather is expected to prevail in most parts of the country until Christmas Day apart from isolated light rains and thunderstorms, the state weather bureau said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said no tropical cyclone or low-pressure area is expected to develop within and outside the Philippine area of responsibility until Friday, based on latest forecast.

But PAGASA weather forecaster Shaira Nonot said the northeast monsoon and the tail-end of a cold front would continue to bring cloudy skies with light rains in many parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, in the next few days.

The tail-end of cold front could still bring moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms over the Bicol region and the province of Quezon until today that may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

She also warned of big waves in the northern, eastern and western seaboards of Luzon and eastern seaboard of Visayas due to the northeast monsoon.

Meanwhile, Visayas and Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated thunderstorms.

Devastation remains

Tropical Depression Onyok, which weakened into an LPA after dumping rains in Mindanao and Visayas in the past days, dissipated yesterday. But before Onyok, Typhoon Nona (international name Melor) dumped heavy rains in many parts of the country last week, submerging several areas in Luzon.

Reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and regional civil defense offices showed that property damage caused by Nona hit almost P3.91 billion as of yesterday.

The Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) region bore the brunt of the typhoon’s impact, sustaining P2.13 billion worth of damage.

The amount of agriculture damage in the region hit P1.13 billion, according to Mimaropa civil defense director Eugene Cabrera.

Damaged infrastructure were estimated to be worth P698.8 million while damage to private property in the region was estimated at P2.23 million.

NDRRMC said property damage in Bicol was pegged at P866.6 million, while that of Central Luzon was estimated at P714.1 million.

Eastern Visayas sustained damage worth P184.99 million while Calabarzon recorded P2.87 million.

A total of 168,439 houses in five regions have been damaged by the typhoon.

Relief operations continue

Hundreds were displaced by Nona and Onyok.

In Central Luzon alone, 606,669 people in 427 villages in Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga were reported to be affected, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

In Caraga region, 10,172 people were displaced by Onyok. As of yesterday, 7,046 returned home.

The NDRRMC said a total of 289,616 individuals or 65,318 families in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Visayas are receiving aid from the government.

Of this figure, 87,743 persons or 19,046 families are staying inside 367 evacuation centers.

The national government, local government units and private donors have provided P79.13 million worth of assistance to affected communities.

Last Friday, President Aquino declared a national state of calamity to fast-track the giving of relief to typhoon-hit areas.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is distributing relief goods and galvanized iron (GI) sheets to families affected by typhoon Nona, particularly in regions 3, 4-A and B, and 8, the hardest-hit areas.

In Northern Samar alone, around 270,000 families need GI sheets to reconstruct their roofs, while there were about 60,000 families in Mindoro also in need of the same.

Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez distributed relief goods yesterday in Oriental Mindoro, one of the provinces devastated by Typhoon Nona. 

He gave 1,500 food packs to typhoon victims in Pinamalayan town, then proceeded to Bongabong to give away an additional 500 food packs to residents whose homes had either been heavily damaged or completely destroyed by strong winds and torrential rain that led to flooding.

Death toll rises to 35

The death toll from Typhoon Nona yesterday rose to 35.

Among the fatalities were the siblings caught in a landslide in Purok 5, Barangay Tanauan in Real town. The landslide happened at around 1 p.m., according to a report by the Office of Civil Defense Calabarzon.

The fatalities were identified as Normita Lastimosa, 34, Joan Lastimosa, 10, Jhosa Lastimosa, 5 and one-year old infant Joylyn Lastimosa.

Virginia Pia, 36, Jerine Lastimosa, 13, and John Mark Lastimosa, 15, survived the landslide. With Alexis Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda, Jess Diaz, Ed Amoroso, Michelle Zoleta, Ben Serrano