‘Pedring’ leaves; new storm draws near

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

MANILA (8th Update, 5:20 p.m.) -- Typhoon “Pedring” (international codename: Nesat) is now out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) but a new weather disturbance is drawing near, said weather forecasters.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) advised the public, especially those living in northern Luzon, to remain vigilant as Tropical Storm “Quiel” (international codename: Nalgae) is set to enter the PAR within the next 24 hours.

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"This will affect land by Saturday and Sunday and will again enhance the southwest monsoon. If there’s no change in its direction, we have Thursday and Friday as breathing space to prepare for Quiel," said Science and Technology Undersecretary Graciano Yumul, who is also Pagasa's acting chief, in a text message.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Quiel was estimated at 1,330 kilometers east of northern Luzon.

It will affect the extreme northern Luzon based on its track, said Pagasa.

Typhoon Pedring, meanwhile, continues to move away from the country, but will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon and will bring scattered to widespread rains over the rest of western Luzon.

It was last spotted at 520 kilometers west northwest of Baguio City, packing maximum winds of 130 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 160 kph.

Pagasa forecast it to move west northwest at 19 kph, and will be at 690 kilometers west northwest of Baguio City by Thursday afternoon.

Public storm warning signals elsewhere in the country are now lowered.

Restoration

Pedring made landfall Tuesday morning over the boundary of Aurora and Isabela provinces. It left at least 19 people dead and several areas flooded and without power. It also unleashed huge waves crashing over seawalls in the country’s capital.

On Wednesday morning, emergency services and residents in Manila have started restoring electricity.

National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Benito Ramos said the death toll climbed to 19, and most of the deaths occurred in and around metropolitan Manila, which already was soaked by heavy monsoon rains ahead of the arrival of the typhoon.

The NDRRMC said 35 people are still unaccounted for and that 108 had been rescued.

Initial cost of damages to properties amounted to P984.9 million.

Some 68,601 families or 320,945 persons were affected in 113 municipalities and 29 provinces in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro-Masbate-Romblon-Palawan), National Capital Region and Bicol.

Of this number, 17,285 families representing 79,217 individuals were provided relief inside and outside evacuation centers.

Power supply was gradually restored to the downtown area, which was strewn with trash and fallen bamboo pieces washed ashore by storm surges. The Metro Rail Transit also resumed operations.

Some areas were still flooded, including Manila Ocean Park facing Manila Bay and a major thoroughfare, Taft Avenue. The nearby US Embassy, which was inundated Tuesday, remained closed.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said huge waves as high as coconut trees breached a 65-foot (20-meter) -long seawall astride a popular promenade, allowing seawater from Manila Bay to rapidly engulf hotels, a hospital, business offices and several blocks of residential areas in waist-deep floodwaters.

"This is the first time that this kind of flooding happened here," said Lim, who began his career in Manila as a tough-talking police officer decades ago.

The NDRRMC said the total cost of damages was pegged at P100,264,840.63 as of this posting.

Stand-by funds

Malacañang, meanwhile, announced Wednesday the resumption of classes in schools in Manila and work in government offices following the devastation of Typhoon Pedring.

The government also assured that it has sufficient stand-by funds for the provinces and localities badly-hit by Pedring.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government is ready to implement measures as two more typhoons are expected to enter the Philippines.

"The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has enough stand-by funds for the relief goods that can be immediately released when necessary on top of the assistance of the DSWD regional offices to affected LGUs (local government units)," she said.

The Palace official noted that measures are now in place following Pagasa’s warning that Tropical Storm Quiel and another weather disturbance are expected to enter the PAR in the coming days.

Valte said the Palace is satisfied with how the weather agency is doing its forecasting.

"Even with Typhoon Pedring, the Pagasa gave a warning two days before the typhoon hit the country,” she said.

As an update on the government’s response in the aftermath of Pedring, Valte said the DSWD, through its regional offices, provided food and non-food items in five provinces, namely Cagayan, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya Batanes and Isabela.

She said DSWD OIC-Secretary Undersecretary Alicia Bala has directed all social welfare and development (Swad) teams and Quick Response Teams (QRTs) to continue to coordinate with their counterparts in the affected LGUs to ensure quick provision of augmentation assistance, when necessary.

She said social workers were deployed in all evacuation centers to provide assistance to evacuees.

Aside from helping in the search and rescue efforts, the Philippine National Police also deployed "storm patrols" to ensure the safety of the evacuees in the evacuation centers.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) deployed assets and clearing teams in affected areas.

The DPWH, in coordination with the Metro Manila Development Authority, also started repairing the damaged bridges and roads.

The Department of Health placed its Health Emergency Management Staff and Centers for Health Development in the affected areas on code white alert.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Bureau of Fire Protection also assisted the local governments in evacuating people and the conduct of rescue and operations, said Valte.

Valte cited the early evacuation of residents particularly in Marikina, noting that the people “learned their lessons from the past calamities.” (Jill Beltran/Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)