Stranded Passengers in Bicol Due to Rough Seas

By Ma. April Mier, Shiena Barrameda |Inquirer South Luzon    

Bernardo Alejandro, Office of Civil Defense director in the Bicol region, said that as of noon Sunday, the stranded passengers included 431 at the port of Tabaco City and 137 in Pio Duran, both in Albay; 56 at Bulan Port and 58 at Pilar Port, both in Sorsogon; 11 at the Virac port and seven in San Andres Port, both  in Catanduanes; 19 at the Pasacao Port; and 11 at Guijalo, both in Camarines  Norte. 

Also stranded in these ports were 78 cargo trucks, 15 sea vessels and 3 motorized banca. 

Seaman First Danilo Gerona of the Philippine Coast Guard in Bicol (PCG 5),  said these passengers and vessels were stranded since Saturday after the  Coast Guard issued a gale warning for fishing boats, small sea craft and  larger sea vessels traveling along the seaboards of Visayas and the eastern  seaboard of Southern Luzon and Mindanao.

There was no report of missing fishermen as of Sunday, in Bicol, Gerona added. 

nd-province of Catanduanes, were provided with meals since Saturday by  the provincial government of Albay, said Alejandro. 

All flights in Legazpi City were meanwhile canceled Sunday due to low visibility but those at the Naga City Airport, which was suspended earlier  in the day, resumed at 11 a.m., said Alejandro. 

In Catanduanes, health and disaster authorities were placed on alert as the province, where storm signal number 1 has been hoisted Saturday, was  battered by tropical storm Luis. A detour bridge at the village of Hicming  in the capital town of Virac was destroyed at the storm on Saturday,  isolating six villages. 

Meanwhile, Senior Supt. Marlo Meneses, chief of the Albay police, said additional policemen were deployed at the Tabaco port to beef up security as the number of stranded passengers continued to rise. 

The storm warning signal over Catanduanes has been lowered but gale warning  was still enforced in this area, which means sailing and fishing remained  prohibited, based on the 11 a.m bulletin of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

More Rain in The Philippines

MANILA, Philippines–Light to moderate rains are expected to continue Tuesday in most parts of Luzon due to the low pressure area (LPA) that developed over the weekend off Eastern Samar, the weather bureau said. 

As of 4 a.m. Tuesday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) spotted the LPA at 45 kilometers southwest of Daet, Camarines Norte.

Pagasa said Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region and the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Pangasinan and Romblon will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms during the day.

Pagasa moreover raised the yellow rainfall warning, or heavy rainfall warning, in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, portions of Quezon and Nueva Ecija as of 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Classes suspended in 4 universities 
 

University of Santo Tomas, University of the East Manila, University of the East Caloocan and Perpetual Help College Manila suspended their classes due to anticipated floods.

Pagasa advised residents and local disaster councils to be alert, take all necessary precautions and monitor updates on the weather disturbance.

Senior weather forecaster Buddy Javier said the LPA was not expected to develop into a tropical cyclone.–

By Bong Lozada, INQUIRER.net; and Dona Z. Pazzibugan, PDI 

 

Land With No Summer Months

By Dexter A. See 

NATONIN, Mountain Province —Rain poured daily for the past 24 years on this mountain town in the rugged Cordillera Region in the northern Philippines, children gave up praying “rain, rain go away” and elders look misty-eyed at lowland areas sweltering under the burning sun,  a senior town official said on Friday.

Mountain town. A panoramic view of rice terraces
in Natonin. DEXTER SEE

Mayor Matteo Chiyawan said the town never experienced summer season in more than two decades and the government could not build and put up  infrastructure projects such as roads and school buildings on the soft ground.
“No development because of the rain. I pity our people for being exposed to too much rain,” Chiyawan said.
Natonin, a fourth class municipality, nestles on the slopes of the Cordillera mountain ranges and have little level ground. The town is surrounded by jungles and rain forests.
The sun shines on the 12,000 Igorot population for about three hours at least four times a month. People earn a living from rice terraces farming, fishing for eels in the rivers, and hunting wild animals such boars and deers.
Chiyawan said too much water in the soil and threat of soil erosion make it difficult for workers to compact the land and implement government public works projects.

A waterfall in one of the rain
forests in the area. DEXTER SEE

He said it takes several hours travel from the provincial capital of Bontoc to Natonin over 74 kms of rough and muddy national highway that winds on the side of the mountain.
Agriculture production has suffered because farmers could not dry their palay and rotting grains became one of the major causes of heavy losses, Chiyawan said.
“The old generation performed rituals to stop the rain with a sequence of prayers together with several animals butchered, but the practice has stopped in the past several years,” Chiyawan said.
The rain forests contribute to the abundant rainfall in Natonin, making its rivers suitable for operation of mini-hydro power plants, which could offer employment opportunities to people in the area.
Gov. Leonard Mayaen said the provincial government has on stand-by heavy equipment for use of Natonin during landslides and soil erosion caused by water saturation on the road.
He said he was ready to respond to any calls for assistance from Natonin municipal officials have handled the situation well and “no problems have been brought to our attention.”
“I am proud of the resilience of the people of Natonin because they are able to survive the prevalence of too much rain and still pursue their own sources of livelihood like raising of heirloom rice, hunting wild animals and being involved in food processing and weaving,” Mayaen said.
Officials appealed on the Department of Public Works and Highways to fast-track concreting of the unpaved portion of the Natonin to Paracelis road to connect the town to Santiago City in Isabela and open new business opportunities for residents.

(C) 2014 Manila Standard

More Rain and Landslides in The Philippines

Luzon has been drenched by monsoon rains enhanced by Typhoon Usagi. Photograph: Francis R. Malasig/EPA
 
Torrential monsoon rains have hit the north-west Philippines triggering landslides and killing 20 people in areas already weakened by a powerful typhoon, and raising the death toll to 47 from storms across Asia.

Philippine officials said soldiers and villagers were also searching for at least seven people missing in mountainside villages hit by the landslides on Monday in the province of Zambales.

In China, where typhoon Usagi struck after passing by the Philippines, officials said the storm killed 25 people in the southern province of Guangdong, 13 of them in the city of Shanwei where it struck the coast late on Sunday.

Two people drowned when a passenger boat capsized in north-east Aurora Province in the Philippines.

Jeffrey Khonghun, mayor of Subic, Zambales, said 15 bodies were dug out in two landslide-hit villages in his town. Five people also died in landslides in two other towns in Zambales, according to army officials and police.

Rescuers used their hands, pots and shovels to dig through the muck that buried a cluster of houses, while relatives of two other missing residents waited in the rain in the village of Wawandue.

"This is the first after a long time that we were hit by this kind of deluge," Khonghun told Manila's DZBB radio network. He had to stop the interview when another body was pulled out from the mud near him.

Typhoon Usagi enhanced the torrential monsoon rains that drenched the main northern Philippine region of Luzon over the weekend. The powerful typhoon blew away late on Saturday and a new tropical storm off southern Japan was continuing to intensify the downpours in Luzon, government forecaster Samuel Duran said.

Many low-lying areas of the Philippine capital, Manila, and outlying regions were swamped on Monday, prompting authorities to close schools and offices.
In Hong Kong flight schedules were returning to normal on Monday after major disruptions caused by Usagi, which was the season's strongest storm. At its peak it forced about 250 flight cancellations in Hong Kong, before weakening to a tropical depression over the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

Train and airline services around Guangdong had returned to normal after the storm, China's state broadcaster CCTV said.

China's national weather centre said the storm would continue to weaken as it moves north-west.

ComVal Suffers More...

COMPOSTELA VALLEY PROVINCE (Jan. 23)----- The rain has stopped but the Provincial, Municipal, and Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils remain ready with their respective rescue teams and keep on watch for any sudden change of the weather condition.

There were family evacuees in the province as rains poured in since Friday evening (January 18).  Per flooding incident official report issued by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) as of 8:00 a.m. of January 21, 2013, there were 2,143 families who vacated for safety to the identified evacuation centers.  As of 8:00 a.m. of January 22, the number of families became 441.  As the water subsides, those residents of flooded areas which are accessible already have started to go home.

Governor Arturo T. Uy being the Chairman of the PDRRM Council earlier issued an order for the suspension of classes in schools for the safety of the students and teachers considering the flood risks. But today, classes have resumed already.

PDRRM Officer Raul Villocino said that with the experienced weather disturbance, the people are advised to stay alert and abide to any issued public warnings and safety measures implemented by the local authorities. 

Thank you Grace Almedilla, ids-comval for your update...

 

Be Again On Guard Against Dengue

The Philippines' weather bureau predicts the onset of the rainy season now. The usually rainy season is six months in the Philippines - from June to November each year. With rains comes flooding, along with threat of illnesses such as dengue fever.

We are all advised here to be vigilant against dengue, a perennial health problem, prevalent in tropical countries such the Philippines. Anyone can fall ill with dengue fever any time during the year but the number of patients increases during the raining season. The dengue-carrying mosquito  called AEDES AEGYPTI, which is black with white spots, lays eggs in clear waters found in flower vases, cans, bamboo husks, empty soft drink bottles, rain barrels, and old rubber tires. Left undetected and treated, dengue could lead to a number of complications.

An expert warned against a "secondary mosquito species - the AEDES ALBOPICTUS - as a possible dengue risk. The forest area at Mount Makiling in Laguna is said to be the natural habitat of this specie. The Department of Health is conducting further studies to validate the threat from this "secondary mosquito species".

The first quarter of 2012 registered a 28.96 percent drop in dengue cases, mostly in Metro Manila - from 23.241 cases in the same period last year, to 16.511 cases this year.

BUT, be on guard as there is no treatment, cure, or vaccine for dengue. A way to prevent it is to maintain clean surroundings to eliminate breeding sites. Prevention involves regular clean up, fogging, spraying of insecticides and larviciding. Clothing, mosquito repellent, and netting can held reduce exposure.

Bad Weather in The Philippines

A friend of mine, living in the U.S., emailed me this morning and asked, if it is true, that Mindanao is expecting another taifun.

An active low pressure area will bring widespread rains over Visayas and Eastern Mindanao, according to the Philippine Atmosphere, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). And, I must confess, while writing this piece, it's starting again raining here in Davao City.

PAGASA, in its weather synopsis, said that the ALPA was estimated based on satellite and surfaced data at 350 kilometers east of Southern Mindanao. The APLA is now diminishing its chances to become a tropical cyclone as it approaches land. 

For its wind and sea alert, the weather bureau said moderate to strong winds blowing from the east  will prevail over Luzon and coming from the east to northeast over Visayas and Mindanao. 

Guys, where ever you are located, please be safe.