CamSur bears brunt of Tropical Storm Ramon

NAGA CITY—Landslides and flash floods caused by heavy rain from Tropical Storm “Ramon” drove more than 400 people to flee their homes in Camarines Sur province on Thursday, according to disaster management officials.

Ferry services have also remained suspended since Wednesday after most of Bicol was placed under Storm Signal No. 2, stranding more than 2,500 passengers at various ports in the region, along with 757 cars and trucks, and 15 ferries at the ports in Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol said.

Ramon may weaken into a tropical depression after it makes landfall on Sunday in Cagayan and Isabela provinces, the weather bureau said on Thursday. It advised people in the affected areas in northern Luzon to brace for rain toward the weekend.

Rescue operations

The storm was packing maximum winds of up to 65 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph as of 4 p.m. on Thursday, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. It was centered about 500 km east of Baler, Aurora province, moving north-northwest at 15 kph.

Weathermen raised tropical cyclone wind Signal No. 2 in Catanduanes province, and No. 1 in the eastern parts of Isabela, northern Aurora, Polillo Island, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Albay.

According to the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in Tinambac town, Camarines Sur, 100 families or 429 people were rescued from the landslide-hit village of Mananao and the flooded villages of Buenavista, Tamban and Bagacay.

The MDRRMO also said evacuation was going on as of Thursday noon. No casualties were reported.

Tinambac is located in the northern part of Camarines Sur close to the island province of Catanduanes, which was in the eye of the storm on Thursday.

Classes on all levels in private and public schools remained suspended in Albay, Sorsogon and Catanduanes, according to Claudio Yucot, OCD regional director.

There were also no classes in Isabela and Quirino.

As authorities in Cagayan Valley braced for Ramon, workers rushed to clear the roads blocked by rock slides caused by Typhoon “Quiel” last week.

Operators of Magat Dam opened one floodgate on Thursday morning as a safety precaution in case of heavy rain from the approaching storm, said Eduardo Ramos, National Irrigation Administration manager of the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System.

Aid readied, cops deployed

Isabela Gov. Rodolfo Albano III ordered the suspension of work in government offices on Friday and encouraged the public to stock up on food.

Relief goods intended for the coastal towns of Palanan, Maconacon, Divilacan and Dinapigue were ready for delivery, he said.

Following reports of landslides along the Ilagan-Divilacan Road, Albano deployed policemen to reroute motorists for their safety.

In the Cordillera province of Apayao, most of the roads hit by landslides due to monsoon rain and Quiel last week have been opened to traffic, except five sections in Cabugao town, according to the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Several sections of a road in Calanasan town have been impassable since Sunday, it said.

As it prepared for Ramon, the region was struck by separate mild earthquakes—a 4.9-magnitude temblor on Wednesday in Nagtipunan, Quirino, and another of 3.6 magnitude in Calayan, Cagayan.

There were no reports of injuries or damage.