The government on Thursday warned residents of Central Luzon against the threat of massive flooding that may come from cascading waters from Siera Madre due to the strong overnight rain on Wednesday in the provinces of Aurora, Zambales and Nueva Ecija.
Mahar Lagmay, head of the Project Noah of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), issued the warning amid the increasing number of deaths due to landslides and widespread flooding in Southern Luzon, the Bicol region and Northern Luzon in the aftermath of Typhoon Nona (international code name Melor).
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) put its official number of fatalities from the typhoon to eight as of Thursday, although unofficial reports collated as of Wednesday already pegged it at 12.
In Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Rombon and Palawan), or Region 4B, alone, which is one of the regions hardest hit by Nona, at least 11 deaths have been reported by Supt. Imelda Tolentino, spokesman of the region’s police, while at least four barangays in Oriental Mindoro are still under water.
In Quezon province 25-year-old Army Lt. Michelle Mae Deliarte died, while three of her colleagues were injured, after they were hit by a landslide while traversing the national highway in the town of Infanta on Wednesday night.
Those who were injured were Lt. Sarah Jane Bagasol, 24; Cpl. Cheryl Ramirez, 24; and Cpl. Renato Villanueva, 32, all of the 1st Infantry Battalion.
A landslide hit the Isuzu Crosswind carrying the victims, causing it to overturn several times.
Mangahas said the large volume of water accumulated by the Siera Madre will cascade downstream threatening Central Luzon provinces, especially Bulacan and Pampanga.
He said the probability of massive flooding could approximate the flooding generated by Typhoon Ondoy (international code name Ketsana) in 2009, which turned Eastern Metro Manila into a big swamp.
The overnight rain has flooded several areas in Nueva Ecija, Aurora and Nueva Vizcaya, spreading Nona’s devastation from Southern Luzon to Northern Samar to Central Luzon.
Local disaster officials said provinces in Regions 4A, 4B and 8, and in the Bicol region were still recovering from the destruction brought by the first typhoon to hit the country this month.
The NDRRMC said the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon have already declared state of calamities, while two cities and 38 municipalities in other typhoon-affected provinces were still without power.
Telecommunications in Northern Samar, supposedly the hardest-hit province, is still spotty.
The NDRRMC also reported at least 1,695 houses that were damaged, a figure that is much lower than the number reported by local disaster officials in areas battered by the typhoon. It also said at least P320 million worth of agriculture crops and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed.
As Nona has weakened into a low pressure area, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said it is still expected to dump rains in the provinces of Bataan and Zambales on Thursday and Friday, as Tropical Depression Onyok is threatening Caraga and the Davao region.
As of 10 a.m. on Thursday, state weather forecasters said Onyok was at 625 km east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, and was moving north at the speed of 55 kilometers per hour.
It is expected to make a landfall tonight (Friday evening) in Caraga, intensifying into a storm.
1 comment
How about instead of issuing warning, we think and implement solutions?
For example, last October 16, a day before typhoon ‘Lando’ made a landfall in Luzon Island, the elevation of Angat Dam reservoir is 194.20 meters above sea level (masl). Eight (8) days after or in October 22, due to the rains spawned by the typhoon, the reservoir’ elevation rose to 203.72 masl or an increase of 9.56 meters, adding some 170 Million cubic meters of water in Angat reservoir.
That volume of water, translated for ease in visualization, say, in units of a standard size of NBA basketball court (29 by 15 meters) in area and at assumed height of 60 meters (or equal the height of 20-story building) or equal to a volume of 26,100 cubic meters per unit, and then that volume of water released continuously every minute, the time required would be 4.52 days! And please note that flood control function is just one (1) of the many other adjunct functions of the Angat Dam.