Kristine triggers floods, landslides, blackouts

MANILA, Philippines — Many areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao have started experiencing the adverse effects of Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) that have triggered floods and landslides, forced thousands to flee their homes, caused the suspension of sea travel that stranded hundreds of passengers and vessels in seaports, and halted classes, work, and business activities.

The situation could get worse, warned disaster response officials, as the full impact of the weather disturbance has yet to be felt in localities where it was expected to hit land—either in Isabela on Wednesday or in Aurora on Thursday.

READ: Tropical Storm Kristine slightly intensifies; Signal No. 2 in 5 areas

As of noon Tuesday, heavy rains spawned by Kristine already inundated several localities in Bicol (Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Catanduanes), Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and Rizal) and Mimaropa (Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), all in Luzon; Bohol and Cebu in Central Visayas; Negros Occidental in Negros Island Region; Leyte and Samar provinces in Eastern Visayas; and Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao.

Many of these areas have still to provide the exact number of evacuated residents but in the Maguindanao provinces alone, some 300,000 families have to be brought to shelters on Tuesday after days of rains inundated most villages, authorities said.

The trough of Kristine was causing downpours in the Maguindanao provinces, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. It was also affecting the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the Zamboanga Peninsula, threatening to bring floods in low-lying areas and landslides in mountainous areas, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

One person went missing in Leyte while his two companions were rescued when their boat broke down in the waters off Merida town on Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard has reported.

Outages

Power outages in Eastern Visayas have hit several areas in Samar, including Catbalogan City, as well as parts of Biliran, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Leyte, including some areas in Tacloban City.

By late afternoon of Tuesday, Albay province and Magpet town in Cotabato had declared a state of calamity to quickly respond to the needs of displaced residents and clear roads affected by landslides and floods.

Pagasa, in its 5 p.m. bulletin, said “Kristine” slightly intensified over the Philippine Sea east of the Bicol Region. It was forecast to become a severe tropical storm before making landfall over Isabela in Cagayan Valley or northern Aurora in Central Luzon on Wednesday or early Thursday. It would then cross the mountainous terrain of Northern Luzon and emerge over the waters west of the Ilocos Region on Thursday afternoon or evening and may reach typhoon category while over the West Philippine Sea and before leaving the Philippine area of responsibility on Friday.

Mobilized

As of 5 p.m., “Kristine” was 390 kilometers east of Daet, Camarines Norte, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center and gustiness of up to 90 km/h while moving west-northwest at 15 km/h.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, at a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday, said he advised the local government units (LGUs) in Luzon to suspend classes at all levels until Wednesday in anticipation of the weather disturbance’s impact.

“All units have been mobilized, all local government units have been informed … All LGUs and all civil defense units have been alerted and I think we’re prepared,” he said.

In-person classes in more than 17,000 schools in 12 regions had been ordered suspended since Monday, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Tuesday.

Based on the latest DepEd data, the class suspensions involved 17,764 schools with a 7.38 million student population.

At least four public schools were submerged in floods—two in Ormoc City, Leyte; and a school each in Sorsogon City and another in Cajidiocan town in Romblon.

The country’s agriculture sector may also suffer another blow, as the Department of Agriculture (DA) estimated that “Kristine” could damage more than a million hectares of farmland, primarily planted to rice.

The DA said in a bulletin Monday that the projection was based on the combined data from Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Eastern Visayas and Caraga.

Pagasa has raised Signal No. 2 over Catanduanes and placed most parts of Luzon, the whole Eastern Visayas and the provinces of Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte in Mindanao under Signal No. 1.

More than 20 flights in Luzon and Visayas were also canceled on Tuesday, affecting more than a thousand passengers, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. —with reports from Julie M. Aurelio, Jerome Aning, Jordeene Lagare, Kathleen De Villa, Ma. April Mier-Manjares, Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Rey Anthony Ostria, Clarence Roi Gillego, Madonna T. Virola, Carla P. Gomez, Leo Udtohan, Joey Gabieta, Williamor A. Magbanua and Edwin O. Fernandez