Floods hit Leyte, Samar; 1 dead

MANILA, Philippines — The body of a 15-year-old boy, who was reported missing during heavy rains in San Jose district in Tacloban City on Wednesday, was recovered yesterday.

Authorities said the victim drowned in Sitio Caloogan, Barangay San Jose.

He is the first confirmed fatality due to massive flooding spawned by heavy rains in Eastern Visayan in the past several days.

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said 44 barangays were inundated, 35 of them in Leyte, mostly in the towns of San Miguel, Sta. Fe and Palo.

Coastal areas, including Abuyog, were submerged in floodwater.

In Tacloban City, subdivisions in the districts of San Jose, Caibaan, Marasbaras and Nula-Tula were flooded.

Many roads were inundated and remain impassable.

The Northern Samar 2nd Engineering District Office said roads in four towns were impassable to light vehicles. In other areas, roads have yet to be cleared of rocks and debris and remain not passable to all types of vehicles.

In Eastern Samar, vehicles were stranded in Quinapondan town.

The Office of Civil Defense regional office is still assessing the extent of the damage due to flooding.

Fair weather today

Meanwhile, generally fair weather with isolated rains can be expected over the country today, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The effects of the tail-end of a frontal system and the northeast monsoon have both weakened, PAGASA said.

The easterlies may bring warmer and humid weather while strengthening over the Visayas and Mindanao.

Another low-pressure area was spotted 2,055 kilometers east of Mindanao as of 4 p.m. yesterday, but it will have no effect over the country and is not likely to enter the Philippine area of responsibility within the next 24 to 36 hours.

PAGASA said the weather system is not forecast to develop into a tropical depression. – Romina Cabrera