MANILA, Philippines--With Typhoon “Santi” making its way out of the Philippines, there will be a spot of good weather for the faithful to troop to cemeteries for the traditional All Saints’ Day commemoration Sunday.

Santi’s making landfall coincided with the rush of vacationers who wanted to take advantage of the long All Saints’ Day holiday.

Nathaniel Cruz, deputy director of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), made this welcome declaration at a press briefing Saturday morning, after Santi (international name: Mirinae) pummeled Metro Manila and southern Luzon provinces, bringing powerful winds that toppled electric posts and rains that triggered flash floods and landslides.

“The war is over. The part of Santi in our lives is finished,” Cruz said.

Later on Saturday, Cruz said Santi had weakened into a tropical storm as it continued to move away.

He said it was expected to leave the Philippine area of responsibility at around 2 p.m. Sunday and to be 670 kilometers west northwest of Metro Manila by Monday afternoon.

“We see no reason for the storm to slow down or come back,” Cruz said, adding that storm signals had been lowered.

But at least 11 persons were reported killed and seven others reported missing when the typhoon pounded the Bicol and Calabarzon regions before quickly sweeping through the metropolis.

In Batangas, a father and his son went missing after flood waters caused a bridge connecting two barangays to collapse Saturday morning.

Supt. Manuel Abu, Batangas City police chief, identified the missing as Romulo Soriano, 40, and his 3-year-old son.

As of 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported only nine casualties—four dead, one injured and four missing.

But reports gathered by the Inquirer from local military, police and disaster officials showed that typhoon-related casualties continued to rise.

LPA approaching

After Sunday’s good weather, parts of northern and Central Luzon could experience occasional rain showers and cloudy skies beginning Monday because of an approaching low-pressure area (LPA), Pagasa warned.

Cruz said the LPA, located just outside the Philippine area of responsibility west of the country, would interact with the northeast monsoon to bring more rains.

He said there was a low possibility that the low-pressure area would develop into a tropical cyclone.

Still, Pagasa expected improved weather conditions Sunday in areas that bore the brunt of Santi’s fury—the Bicol region, southern Luzon including Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal, and Metro Manila.

“People who still want to go to cemeteries can still do so on Sunday,” he said, adding that any rain showers in Luzon would not be due to Santi.

Floods

Parts of Laguna—Calamba City and the towns of Pagsanjan, Sta. Cruz, Bay, Victoria, Liliw and Pila—were reported flooded as Santi crossed the province.

Pagasa’s Cruz said the flooding could have been caused by the heavy rains that further raised the water level at Laguna Lake.

The water level at the lake was already high as a result of the rains brought by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” on Sept. 26.

Senior Supt. Manolito Labador, police chief of Laguna, said Margie Taino, 8, and Julieta Zaguire, 79, drowned in separate flash floods in Pagsanjan, and Edcel Lovina, 12, drowned in Nagcarlan.

A yet unidentified man was reported missing after his jeep was swept away by flood waters in Liliw, according to Vicente Tomazar, Calabarzon Regional Disaster Coordinating Council director.

In the Bicol region, Raffy Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defense said seven persons died of various circumstances in Camarines Norte and Catanduanes.

The Army’s 2nd Infantry Division also reported that one of its rescue teams had found the body of a man who drowned while crossing a creek in Pililia, Rizal.

The missing persons include one in Muntinlupa City, one in Rizal, three in Pila, Laguna, and two in Batangas City.

According to the NDCC, floods forced some 116,000 persons to flee their homes.

Evacuations

The NDCC spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, said 23,101 families displaced by the floods had been taken to 251 evacuation centers as of 12 noon Saturday.

Torres said Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro traveled to Sta. Cruz, Laguna, to check on the condition of the residents and the damage wrought on public infrastructure.

He said the NDCC and the military had sent disaster relief teams to the affected areas and distributed relief goods two days before Santi made landfall.

In Cavite City, 979 persons were evacuated, said Senior Supt. Alfred Corpus, Cavite police director.

Around 4,437 persons (or 1,116 families), mostly living in high-risk areas, were evacuated to safe grounds in Quezon.

According to Jay dela Fuente, chief of Manila’s social welfare office, families living in low-lying areas were evacuated from their homes at around 9 p.m. on Friday.

Some 1,500 families from Parola and Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, were taken to the Del Pan Sports Complex, and 400 families from the Baseco Compound to the covered court and the Corazon Aquino Elementary School.

Dela Fuente said calm was restored at around 9 a.m. yesterday, allowing residents to quickly repair loosened galvanized iron roofs and city government workers to cut down trees blocking the roads.

Power outages

Torres said strong winds brought by Santi toppled electric posts, causing power outages in Camarines Norte, Quezon, Rizal, Laguna and Metro Manila.

In Manila itself, commuters were forced to find other means of transport when the Light Rail Transit suspended its operations due to a power outage.

About 1.6 million or 35 percent of the 4.6 million registered customers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) remained without power as of 10 a.m. Saturday.

“Felled trees, downed poles and wires, damaged electrical equipment and other debris that hit our facilities were the reasons behind the outages,” said Meralco external communication manager Joe Zaldarriaga.

But Meralco said it expected to fully restore power supply in all affected areas by today.

“Based on field reports we are receiving, we expect to reach a state of normalcy by Sunday,” said Meralco assistant vice president Alex Evangelista.

Stranded

According to the NDCC’s Torres, 8,567 passengers of commercial ships were stranded and more than 130 sea vessels were forced to seek refuge in various ports in Calabarzon and Bicol because of Santi.

About 7,000 passengers were stranded in various ports of Luzon and the Visayas, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

As of noon Saturday, the Coast Guard said 7,647 passengers remained stranded in Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Metro Manila, Western Visayas and Central Eastern Visayas.

Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo, the Coast Guard chief, said the number was expected to decline as he had ordered the resumption of interisland ferry services in Sorsogon, Masbate, Nueva Ecija and Albay.

Long lines of vehicles coming from Bicol and Manila were stranded in Atimonan, Quezon, because of flooding on the Maharlika Highway.

Chief Insp. Alvin Ruby Consolacion, Atimonan police chief, said the motorists had been stranded in the roadside barangays of San Isidro, Malinao, Tinandog and Tagbakin since 2 a.m. Saturday after the Maling river overflowed and spilled onto the highway. With reports from Tina G. Santos, Kristine L. Alave and Amy R. Remo in Manila; Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Maricar Cinco, Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Juan Escandor Jr., Marrah Erika Lesaba and Romulo O. Ponte, Inquirer Southern Luzon