Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Lando stays clear of CV, heads for Mindoro
EMPLOYEES at the Palace of Justice were allowed to go home early yesterday to avoid tropical storm “Mina.”
Regional Trial Court Acting Executive Judge Ramon Codilla Jr. said he issued the verbal order for the sake of the employees.
He said he wanted to spare the employees from another ordeal similar to what happened when typhoon Lando hit Cebu without any early warnings from the weather bureau.
Some employees were seen leaving the building around 3 p.m. yesterday while others waited for the issuance of a written order from Codilla.
But the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa), however, said Mina has left the Philippine area of responsibility and is now headed toward Japan.
Even the prospect of Lando hitting Cebu again already seems unlikely as Pag-asa’s latest weather bulletin said Lando is now crossing Mindoro province.
If it doesn’t change course, Lando should be in Catandanues this afternoon until tomorrow before it moves to Okinawa, Japan on Friday.
Toll
Mina left 12 people dead while search operations continued for a missing Air Force jet and a fishing vessel with 27 people aboard.
The number of people displaced also jumped to nearly half a million across 19 provinces ravaged by flash floods and landslides triggered by the storm, the Office of Civil Defense said.
Mina has weakened as it exited the Philippines toward the southern islands of Japan, but provinces in northern Luzon continued to be battered by strong winds and rains.
Lando, meanwhile, continued to dump rains over Palawan and Mindoro.
Lando killed 13 people last week in its initial pass over the Philippines.
It reversed course Monday to merge with Mina, sinking a fishing boat near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, leaving 27 Filipino crewmen missing, officials said.
Search
A Philippine Air Force jet sent to search for the crew members also went missing in the area on Monday, the military said.
Another brewing storm is expected to hit the Philippines in the next four days and bring more rains to the eastern part of Luzon and the central Philippines, the Pag-asa said.
The Air Force said it was searching for the S-211 reconnaissance jet and its two pilots in the Spratlys.
Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon said the aircraft probably crashed in the South China Sea. The US Navy has dispatched an Orion surveillance aircraft to help in the search, he added.
“They are still working at it alongside our naval assets,” Esperon said. “We are praying hard that…the pilots survived the incident, but up to now there are no indications of that.”
The Coast Guard and Navy said there was also no sign of the capsized fishing vessel or any of its crew. (AFP with a report from KNT)
