MANILA, Philippines—A low-pressure area hovering east of northern Luzon has intensified into a tropical depression Monday afternoon, making it the 20th weather disturbance to enter the storm-weary country this year.
Tropical Depression “Tino” was estimated to be 270 kilometers east of Tuguegarao City in Cagayan as of 4 p.m. Monday, packing maximum winds of 55 kilometers per hour. It was forecast to move west northwest at 15 kph, according to the weather bureau.
Based on the average number of typhoons that hit the country yearly, there could be one to two more typhoons this month and another in December, said Nathaniel Cruz, deputy director of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
Storm Signal No. 1 was raised Monday over Isabela, Cagayan, Babuyan and Calayan Islands, and the Batanes group of islands.
“Residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes are advised to take all the necessary precautionary measures against possible flash floods and landslides,” PAGASA said.
It said the rest of northern Luzon “will have occasional rains and gusty winds due to the surge of the northeast monsoon.”
Upgrade
Only hours before the low-pressure area officially became Tino, PAGASA officials were not expecting it to become a tropical depression.
But Cruz told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that the weather bureau decided to “upgrade” the low-pressure area to a tropical depression after developing stronger winds associated with the northeast monsoon.
Tino was expected to be at 90 km north of Aparri town in Cagayan or at the vicinity of Calayan Island later Tuesday afternoon.
The tropical depression was forecast to be 420 km northwest of Aparri or 330 km west northwest of Basco town in Batanes by Wednesday afternoon.
Strong gale winds were also expected to affect the northern and central Luzon seaboards.
Warning against boats
PAGASA warned fishing boats and other small sea craft against venturing out into the sea. Larger vessels were alerted against big waves.
The western seaboard of Ilocos and Central Luzon will have rough to high seas with waves as high as 7.5 meters.
The eastern seaboard will have rough to high seas with waves reaching 6.5 meters.
PAGASA said Tuguegarao would experience rains with gusty winds Tuesday and cloudy skies with rain showers and thunderstorms Wednesday.
The cities of Laoag and Baguio will be cloudy with rain showers and thunderstorms Tuesday and will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms for the rest of the week.
Metro Manila, Olongapo, Angeles and Tagaytay cities will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms Tuesday until the rest of the week.
The cities of Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Zamboanga will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms Tuesday and will be mostly cloudy with rain showers for the rest of the week.
Death toll from ‘Santi’
On Saturday, Typhoon “Santi” (international codename: Mirinae) smashed the storm-weary nation, killing 16 people.
Damage to infrastructure in Camarines Norte alone was pegged at P15.6 million, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).
Damage to agriculture was initially placed at P159 million, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The estimates were as of 5 p.m. on Nov. 1.
The damage was in addition to more than P27 billion in agricultural losses caused by two recent storms—“Pepeng” (Parma) caused P20.48 billion in agricultural damage and “Ondoy” (Ketsana), P6.67 billion.
Santi dumped heavy rain and brought strong winds just weeks after Pepeng and Ondoy left about 1,100 dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Fewer casualties
The evacuation of more than 115,000 people in the days before the typhoon had resulted in fewer casualties compared with the other two storms, the NDCC said.
Most of those who were moved into evacuation sites have been trickling back to their homes since Sunday, it said.
The NDCC said the deaths from Santi were due mostly to drowning and occurred in suburban areas just south of Manila and in two eastern provinces.
One fisherman remained missing while 38 others were rescued on Monday after they set sail in bad weather in 17 small boats from the coastal town of Claveria in Cagayan, police said.
Rescuers helped to pull back 14 of the boats, but three were wrecked by high waves caused by heavy winds associated with Santi, police said.
In its latest report, the NDCC said eight people were killed in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and eight in Bicol when the typhoon battered the two regions on Friday night before swiftly sweeping Metro Manila.
Of the eight people killed in Bicol, seven were from Camarines Norte and one from Catanduanes.
Missing persons
The number of missing persons stood at four from Laguna, Quezon and Batangas, according to a report of Glenn Rabonza, NDCC executive officer.
The number of families provided shelter in evacuation centers has ballooned to 3,924, or 19,356 people, from Sunday’s figure of more than 2,000 families.
The families were being served with relief items the government had transported via a food caravan before the typhoon entered the country on Oct. 29.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development had moved P3.8 million worth of assorted relief supplies like family food packs, drinking water, blankets, noodles and medicines to cities and provinces expected to be hit by the typhoon.
Some P923,000 worth of relief goods were distributed in Metro Manila; P2.35 million in Calabarzon; and P538,083 in Bicol.
Authorities, however, said relief and rehabilitation efforts would continue for the more than 87,000 people left homeless by the two previous storms and staying in evacuation centers. With reports from Jocelyn R. Uy, Riza T. Olchondra and Agence France-Presse
