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Sunday, December 18, 2005
Hundreds flee as floods threaten Calapan anew
CALAPAN -- Hundreds of villagers in Calapan City were forced to flee their homes to evacuation centers Saturday after days of monsoon rains flooded their communities for a second time in as many weeks, officials said.
As many as 20,000 people from about 20 villages in Calapan, the capital of Mindoro Oriental province on Mindoro island, had been affected by late Saturday in the latest floods, said City Administrator Salvador Leachon, who helped evacuate residents.
A river that runs through Calapan overflowed early Saturday following several days of continuous rain, breaching a 700-meter section of an earthen dike, Leachon said.
Leachon said the floodwaters were "higher than a man" in some areas and flowing closer to the city center by the minute.
He said local officials, speaking on television, radio and mobile loudspeakers, urged residents close to the river to evacuate. He said church bells also were being rung to warn villagers of rising floodwaters.
Many residents affected by last week's floods were again moving furniture and other personal belongings to the second floor of their homes. Some have already left to seek shelter in homes of relatives.
"Many are evacuating because the flood this time is bigger than the previous one we saw," said Mayor Carlos Brucal.
Leachon said relief officials counted at least 144 families, or about 860 people, in evacuation centers. He said the number will increase overnight, but officials will be unable to get exact figures of evacuees since many are expected to move in with relatives and friends.
"We need more help because we were under water for seven days last week and had only a two-day respite," he said, adding that food supplies in evacuation areas may start to run out "in a couple of days."
The weather bureau said a tropical depression that passed near Mindoro island had worsened the monsoon rains.
More than 170,000 people in Calapan and about 30,000 in four nearby provinces were affected by last week's floods. Five people were killed, including a man who drowned as he tried to drive home in Calapan, about 130 kilometers south of Manila.
The weather bureau in a bulletin said tropical depression Quedan has crossed northern Palawan and continued to move west-northwest towards the South China Sea.
Palawan will experience rains and gusty winds with moderate to rough seas. Southern Luzon and the rest of Visayas will have occasional to frequent rains. The rest of the country will be mostly cloudy with scattered isolated rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms.
Moderate to strong northeasterly winds will prevail over Luzon and Visayas with moderate to rough seas. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the northeast and east with slight to moderate seas.
The weather bureau has lowered Public Storm Signal No. 1 in the provinces of Mindoro island, Lubang Island, Antique, Aklan and Cuyo Island.
Signal No. 1, however, remains over Pagasa Island, Palawan and the Calamian Group of Islands, the weather bureau said. (AP/Sunnex)
(December 18, 2005 issue)
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