Bising leaves 1 dead in Eastern Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Typhoon Bising did not make landfall in Eastern Visayas, but it left a man dead and two others injured in Leyte on Sunday.

State weather forecasters yesterday said Bising would continue to dump heavy rain over the Bicol region and Northern Samar today.

Sandwiched between two high-pressure areas, the typhoon was forecast to move slowly over the Philippine Sea in the next few days, according to Ariel Rojas, weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

PAGASA said Bising was expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Saturday or Sunday.

Police said the fatality was pinned under a coconut tree that was uprooted during the typhoon in Barangay San Isidro, Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte.

The name of the victim was not immediately available.

In Leyte, police rescued two persons from drowning in Barangay Sto. Rosario, Baybay City.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 was hoisted over Catanduanes, eastern portions of Albay and Camarines Sur, eastern and central portions of Northern Samar and Sorsogon as well as in the northern portions of Eastern Samar and Samar.

The weather disturbance continued to dump moderate to heavy to at times intense rain over the Bicol region as well as in the provinces of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Samar and the northern portion of Leyte yesterday.

Moderate to heavy rain will persist over the Bicol region and Northern Samar today, while light to moderate to at times heavy rain may prevail over the northern portion of Aurora and eastern portions of Cagayan and Isabela.

As of 4 p.m., yesterday, the eye of Bising was spotted 500 kilometers east of Infanta, Quezon with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 240 kph.

It was moving north-northwest slowly.

Bising was projected to move generally north or north- northwest until Wednesday night or Thursday morning due to two high-pressure areas, Rojas said.

The typhoon will move generally northeast or east- northeast away from the landmass of Luzon once the high-pressure area moves.

Meanwhile, operators of the Magat Dam in Isabela will start releasing water at 6 a.m. today in anticipation of the heavy rain from Bising.

The dam was at its critical level of 190.39 meters yesterday, or three meters short of its spilling level of 193 meters.

In Bicol, over 100,000 people sought shelter in several evacuation centers as Bising pounded the region with heavy rain and strong winds.

More than 3,200 people were stranded in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas and North Eastern Mindanao due to Bising, the Philippine Coast Guard said. – Miriam Desacada, Evelyn Macairan, Cet Dematera, Raymund Catindig