MORE than 1,000 families were evacuated in Eastern and Western Samar and in the Caraga region, while thousands of passengers were stranded as Tropical Depression Agaton made a landfall over Dinagat and Siargao early Tuesday, bringing in rains.
The storm, the first to hit the country this year, also brought heavy to moderate rains in other provinces, state weather bureau Pagasa said.
Supt. Gilbert Gorero, spokesman for the Western Visayas regional police, said rains brought by Agaton resulted in floodings in at least 86 barangays and rendered several roads impassable to traffic.
At least 25 families, or 74 person,s were evacuated.
Meanwhile, two residents of the southern town of Malabuyoc in Cebu province were confirmed dead due to a landslide triggered by Agaton that made landfall in nearby Santander town at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) identified the fatalities as Richie Pimentel, 39, and Flora Basadre Mata, 64.
PDRRMO Spokesman Julius Regner said Mata was inside her house when it was buried in mud from the landslide that hit Barangay Looc in Malabuyoc.
Mata was among those told to evacuate their homes due to the downpour brought by Agaton, but she refused to heed the advice of the local disaster-management office.
Pimentel panicked when he heard shouts from the neighborhood and jumped off the window of his house. He landed on a concrete pavement head first and was sent to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
Regner said Pimentel might have been unaware of the concrete pavement because of the power outage in the area since 3 a.m.
In Capiz more than 20 families were also moved to safer grounds just hours before Agaton hit land.
In Caraga Chief Insp. Renel Serrano, spokesman for the Caraga regional police, said at least 1,045 families in Surigao del Sur, and 540 in Surigao del Norte, Surigao City, Dinagat Islands and in Butuan were also evacuated.
At least eight barangays were flooded, while thousands of passengers were stranded on both land and sea.
In Eastern Visayas Chief Insp. Ma. Bella Rentuaya, spokesman for the regional police, said at least 34 families were evacuated in the region, while the Coast Guard temporarily stopped sea travels.
Agaton, with a maximum wind of 55 kilometers per hour, was moving toward Palawan as of 10 a.m. on Tuesday, and has affected the Bicol region and Eastern Visayas, Panay Island, Romblon and Mindoro provinces.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the reported death from Vinta has already reached 160 people, while 163 others remaining missing.
The NDRRMC said the numbers were still being verified, although it officially listed five deaths, 18 injured persons and 13 others still missing.
About 6,850 houses were totally or partially destroyed, while 168, 081 families or 794, 613 persons, were affected by the storm in 1,151 barangays in Mimaropa, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Caraga and in Regions 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
The NDRRMC said another 30,770 houses were also damaged by Storm Urduja in Mimaropa and in Bicol and in Regions 7, 8 and 11.
The country was hit by storms in succession during the past three weeks.
With the PNA
