Rescuers continue searching for victims believed to be buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon’s onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. AP FILE PHOTO
As the soil remained saturated in areas hit hard by Typhoon “Ompong” (Mangkhut), the state weather bureau warned of new landslide risks with the new typhoon approaching northern Philippines.
Rene Paciente of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said that Northern Luzon will experience light to moderate rains starting mid-week due to Typhoon Paeng (international name: Trami).
“Sa Cordillera area kahit moderate rains or thunderstorms, possible pa rin mag cause ng landslides so pinapag-ingat natin ang mga kababayan sa bulubundukin kung pwede umalis na sa lugar na prone sa landslides,” he said in a press conference.
(In the Cordillera area, even though there’s only moderate rains or thunderstorms, these could still possibly cause landslides, so we are asking those who live in the mountain area to take caution and leave the areas that are prone to landslides.)
The deadly landslide in the mountains of Itogon, Benguet during the onslaught of Ompong last week has claimed at least 50 lives, while dozens remained missing.
Paeng will be closest to the Philippines by Friday, but light to moderate rains and thunderstorms are expected in Northern and Central Luzon starting Wednesday.
Paciente said Paeng will not bring as much rains as Ompong, but heavy rains and strong winds are expected over the tip of Northern Luzon or the Batanes-Babuyan Islands area on Friday.
The typhoon was spotted 975 kilometers east of Tuguegarao, blowing maximum sustained winds of 170 kilometers per hours and gusts of up to 210 kph.
It moved 20 kilometers west northwest and is expected to slow down from Tuesday to Thursday. /je