MANILA, Philippines—Weather experts on Monday warned that a low pressure area sighted over the Pacific Ocean could develop into a typhoon and strike the Philippines later this week, as the death toll from the floods unleashed by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) rose to 140, amid fears the casualty toll would climb further.

With dozens of people still missing after Ondoy’s onslaught, government agencies shifted their focus to a massive relief operation, making sure food and other needed items were delivered to areas around Metro Manila, which were worst hit by Ondoy.

Many survivors fumed when no government help came as they struggled to survive after rivers of water and mud swallowed up their homes on Saturday.

“We feel their pain and anger but it is physically impossible to reach everyone,” Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. told reporters. “But we will help them as soon as we can.”

Showing a model simulation of a low pressure area hovering over the Pacific, east of the country, PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) Director Prisco Nilo said it was a potential weather disturbance that could hit the country within the week.

The low pressure area is predicted to continue to approach the country, near Mindanao, on Wednesday and move toward central and northern Luzon by Friday.

“Since it is still far out into the ocean, it is entirely possible that it could develop into a typhoon,” Nilo said at briefing of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

In view of the approaching weather disturbance, Teodoro cited the need to secure more evacuation centers and reach residents still stranded by floodwaters triggered by Ondoy.

“We will still have to overcome the natural resistance of homeowners [in] moving out of their houses,” he said.

He called on all local officials nationwide to devise mechanisms that will secure their residents when the low pressure area approaches.

More rains

A PAGASA bulletin issued at 5 p.m. Monday predicted thunderstorms and cloudy skies over several provinces in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao this week.

The state weather bureau’s forecast for the rest of the week showed that the rains would affect Central and Southern Luzon and the Western sections of Visayas and Mindanao.

Metro Manila will continue to experience scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms.

Rains are also expected in the cities of Tuguegarao, Laoag, Baguio, Olongapo, Angeles, Tagaytay, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Zamboanga.

PAGASA said “moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest to southeast will prevail over Northern Luzon and coming from the southwest over the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.”

Coastal waters in the whole archipelago will be moderate to rough, PAGASA said.

Damage: P1.4 billion

Most of the 140 people so far confirmed killed in the wake of Ondoy were retrieved from floodwaters that submerged a large swathe of Rizal province, the latest NDCC report said.

Seven deaths were recorded in Metro Manila; one in the Cordillera Administrative Region; 36 in Bulacan and Pampanga; 82 in Rizal; 10 in Laguna; one in Batangas and in Calauag, Quezon.

At least 32 people were recorded missing and 5 injured.

Teodoro said 115,990 people had been secured in 207 evacuation centers.

Damage to roads, bridges, schools and agriculture has reached P1.4 billion.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap estimated the damage to agriculture at P820 million affecting 62 hectares of croplands in Luzon and 54,753 hectares of rice fields across the country. Of the area, 34 hectares were in Bulacan, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.

Life-and-death situations

In an earlier briefing, Anthony Golez Jr., officer in charge of the Office of the Civil Defense, said the number of people in “life-and-death” situations that needed to be rescued may have dropped as floodwaters continued to subside.

Golez also said that some did not want rescue but relief goods.

“Many of them don’t want to leave their houses because they might lose their things,” he said.

Teodoro said the challenge now confronting the NDCC was how to distribute food to residents who still refused to leave their submerged homes.

Relief missions

Starting Monday morning, helicopters on missions to distribute goods to relief centers flew incessantly in and out of Camp Aguinaldo.

To fast-track the distribution of relief goods to worst hit areas, specifically Cainta and Pasig City, Teodoro has established an advanced command center in Ever Gotesco mall in Cainta, Rizal, which will serve as drop-off point for relief goods.

So far, the NDCC and the Department of Social Welfare and Development have spent P4.67 million for rice, family packs and other relief items. Teodoro said the DSWD had set aside another P20 million for relief efforts.

“But there is going to be probably more needed as it is,” said Teodoro.

The cost of the devastation wrought by Ondoy in the public school system has reached P43 million while 7,600 families are still taking shelter in schools across four regions in Luzon, the Department of Education said.

Suffering Marikina

The official death toll in Marikina City as reported by the NDCC officially stood at “one” as of early Monday, but angry, distressed residents of Provident Villages knew better.

Dozens of bodies have been retrieved from that subdivision alone, numbering at least 59, according to Marikina police chief Senior Supt. Romeo Magsalos, as rescuers continued to trudge through muddy waters to recover more bodies.

Ondoy destroyed an estimated P278 million worth of infrastructure, with Metro Manila and Central Luzon bearing the brunt of destruction, the Department of Public Works and Highways said Monday. With reports from DJ Yap, Philip C. Tubeza, Kristine L. Alave