Luzon, Visayas towns under water

MANILA, Philippines—Torrential rains triggered by a low pressure area and the prevailing tail-end of a cold front left several towns in Oriental Mindoro, Aklan, Capiz, Western Samar and Leyte are under floodwaters, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Wednesday.

In its situation report, the NDRRMC said that 23 villages in Naujan, Calapan City and Mansalay, all in Oriental Mindoro, were under ankle- to chest-deep flood. Also, the Mag-asawang Tubig Bridge in Naujan was under water after the river overflowed, it said.

Thirty-five families or 175 persons were affected in the villages of Pinagsabangan 1 and Barcenaga in the town of Naujan, while 22 families or 110 persons were affected in Barangay Bucayao in Calapan City. Seventeen families or 85 persons were affected in the town of Baco.

Also, village roads in Naujan, Baco and Mansalay were not passable to light vehicles, the NDRRMC said.

In Aklan and Capiz, strong to moderate rains caused the rise in the water level of the Aklan River, which threatened to overflow in Banga, Numancia and Kalibo. Heavy downpour was also experienced in Capiz on Tuesday evening, flooding the rice fields in the towns of Maayon, Manbusao, Pontevedra, Panit-an, Sapian and Sigma, the NDRRMC said.

Eight villages in Tacloban City were also flooded while in Sitio Lourdes, Barangay Old Manucan, Sta. Rita, Western Samar was under waters reaching hip-deep as of 4 p.m. Tuesday.

In Palo, Leyte, five families or 25 residents of three villages were evacuated after the Guindapunan River overflowed.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has sent 600 food packs for Oriental Mindoro. Meanwhile, the NDRRMC is in close coordination with their regional and provincial counterparts.

In its latest weather forecast, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said that the low pressure area has dissipated but a tailend of a cold front is affecting parts of Luzon and Visayas which is expected to bring cloudy skies and scattered rains and thunderstorms in Central and Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Skies will become cloudy with widespread rains over Eastern Visayas which may trigger flashfloods and landslides while the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains, the state-run weather bureau said.