Friday, September 29, 2006 Typhoon 'Milenyo' kills 4 By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan, Nicolas C. Delfin and Roberto L. Bacasong
TYPHOON "Milenyo" (international codename: Xangsane) unleashed fierce winds and rains as it slammed into northern and central Philippines Thursday, killing at least four people.
Of the four fatalities, three were reported from Antique Province that include a drunk man, a 9-year-old boy and an electrician, disclosed acting governor Eduardo Fortaleza.
The other victim was a 16-year-old girl who was crushed to death by a fallen tree in Lucena city in Quezon province, southeast of Manila.
The typhoon also caused power outages in Manila including widespread floodings.
In Negros Occidental, the Provincial Disaster Management Team (PDMT) reported flooding in Bago City, Valladolid, San Enrique, Ilog, Kabankalan, Pontevedra, among others.
Rescue units are also placed on alert should any emergency arise.
Local flights and sea travels to and from Manila were also cancelled as of press time.
Fast crafts plying the Bacolod-Iloilo-Bacolod route cancelled their early morning trips but resumed as of 1 p.m. Thursday.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) canceled more than half of its domestic flights as well as a number of services to nearby Asian points as Typhoon "Milenyo" headed straight for the capital, home to the flag carrier's main hub at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
As of press time, PAL had canceled 38 round-trip flights to 13 domestic destinations -- 53% of its scheduled 72 domestic services Friday.
Eight flights to and from four Asian points - Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai and Busan -- were called off, while services to Nagoya, Osaka (Kansai) and Tokyo (Narita) were reset to the following today (Sept. 29).
A handful of PAL flights scheduled to return to Manila from various domestic and regional points Thursday were put also held as authorities monitored the weather situation.
Affected were the return services from Tokyo, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing, Osaka, Fukuoka and Taipei.
On the other hand, three PAL aircraft were evacuated from Manila to the safety of southern airports in Cebu, Kalibo and Butuan.
Cebu Pacific airlines also suffered the same fate but its flights are expected to resume today.
Negros Navigation (NN), on the other hand, has not cancelled but only delayed yesterday's voyage from Bacolod to Manila via M/V St. Joseph The Worker (SJW).
Instead of its 11:30 a.m. trip to Manila, SJW departed around 2 p.m. and is expected to arrive in Manila also 2 p.m. Friday.
However, NN's m/v St.Peter's the Apostle's Wednesday trip was totally cancelled and will only resume trip to Manila by 3:00 p.m. Friday.
While Aboitiz's Super Ferry 16 docked in Bacolod City at about 3:30 a.m yesterday has continued sailing to Butuan after more than an hour of delay.
But its Super Ferry 5 voyage from Bacolod to Manila was cancelled and will be resumed 6:45 a.m. Friday.
Meanwhile, the entire Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was closed until 6 p.m. last night in view of the destructive effects of typhoon Milenyo.
The closure took effect at 10:40 a.m.
Weathermen said the strongest effect of the typhoon, at winds of 85 kph near the center with gustiness at 120 kph, will be felt in Metro Manila from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The typhoon's center is projected to veer to the east, passing 40 kilometers south of Metro Manila.
The strong winds and rains are estimated to die down by 6:00 p.m. last night yet the storm has already toppled trees and triggered landslides, blocking some provincial roads.
It also shut schools, ferries and the country's financial markets, and forced officials to suspend two commuter trains in metropolitan Manila.
A much-awaited game 2 between the Ateneo University and University of Santo Tomas in the on-going University Athletic Association of the Philippine (UAAP) basketball championship in Manila was also postponed.
Also in Manila, winds ripped giant highway tarpaulin billboards and toppled a tree in front of the U.S. Embassy, blocking traffic.
The US Embassy was closed for the day.
The typhoon packed maximum winds of 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 160 kph (100 mph) when it made landfall overnight in the central Bicol region.
It weakened into a storm with 110 kph winds (69 mph) but picked up speed from 17 kph (11 mph) to 19 kph (12 mph) as it passed over Manila.
It was the strongest typhoon to directly hit Manila in 11 years.
In November 1995, the 260-kph (163-mph) Super typhoon Angela battered the Philippine capital after slicing through central provinces, leaving 936 people dead.
The Office of Civil Defense reported half of the villages in one town in Antique province were under 1.5 meters (five feet) of water after the Dalanas River overflowed.
Elsewhere, more than 4,000 ferry passengers were stranded after the coast guard banned vessels from leaving ports, including in Manila.
The coastal province of Albay, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Manila, felt the brunt of the typhoon.
A regional highway was impassable because of uprooted trees, power cuts were reported in six provinces and a landslide cut off the road between Antique and Iloilo provinces, the civil defense reported. (With reports from AP)
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