‘Leon’ destroys historic Batanes church, seawalls

QUAKE ‘SURVIVOR’ CRUMBLES The Santa Maria de Mayan Church in Itbayat, Batanes, had withstood past calamities, including an earthquake that partially damaged it in 2019, but not Supertyphoon “Leon” that pummeled the country’s northernmost province on Wednesday. Photo taken the day after. —NATHAN ALCANTARA

ITBAYAT, BATANES—The facade of this town’s historic Santa Maria de Mayan Church, already damaged by past earthquakes, collapsed on Wednesday following heavy rains and strong winds brought by Supertyphoon “Leon” (international name: Kong-rey), which left a trail of destruction in this province and other parts of northern Luzon.

Made of limestone and lacking structural reinforcement, the saturated remnants of the church were unable to withstand the added weight from rain-soaked stone, leading to its eventual collapse, according to residents.

The church, a landmark in Batanes, has significant cultural and religious importance to the Ivatan community and has previously undergone restoration after natural disasters, including the devastating 2019 Batanes earthquake.

Local officials and residents have expressed their commitment to restore the church.

Initial damage

The Itbayat Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) reported that a total of 725 residents were evacuated in response to the typhoon, 584 of them through the community’s “adopt a neighbor” program, where residents took in those in need.

The remaining 141 were accommodated in barangay halls and other designated evacuation centers.

Emergency responders in the town continued to actively monitor the airport, seaports and surrounding roads, which remain obstructed by fallen tree branches and other debris following the typhoon.

Initial assessments estimate damage to public infrastructure at P500,000, including the retaining wall at Valanga Seaport and a waiting shed and staging area for fisherfolk at Paganaman Seaport.

The MDRRMO is still conducting an inventory of additional affected public infrastructure and private residences.

Elsewhere in the province, strong winds and heavy rains triggered landslides, rendering some major roads impassable.

On Thursday morning, Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 5 was lifted in Batanes as Leon weakened and was downgraded to a typhoon category.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Leon had made landfall in Taiwan, but warned that there was still a moderate risk of life-threatening storm surge over the low-lying or exposed coastal localities of Batanes, although the risk is expected to continuously decrease as the weather disturbance moves further away.

Leon is forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) late Thursday or early Friday.

While Cagayan province was still reeling from the impact of the typhoon, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Dalupiri Island in Calayan town on Thursday, but caused no casualties or injuries, though aftershocks were observed.

TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION The Santa Maria de Mayan Church, a historic landmark in the northernmost island town of Itbayat in Batanes, was destroyed by Super Typhoon “Leon” (international name: Kong-rey) as seen in this photo taken on Thursday. Originally built by Dominican missionaries in the 19th century, the church has endured multiple typhoons and earthquakes, including the devastating 2019 Batanes earthquake.-NATHAN ALCANTARA

Casualties, damage

On Thursday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported total deaths due to Leon and the earlier Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) at 150, with 7.4 million individuals affected in 17 regions in the country.

In its latest bulletin, the NDRRMC did not specify the number of fatalities from each storm but data from the agency’s earlier reports showed that the majority of the deaths were due to Kristine.

It said Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) had the highest fatality at 72, followed by the Bicol region at 57.

Those missing numbered 29 people, while 115 others were injured due to landslides and flash floods, it added.

Damage to infrastructure, it said, has ballooned to P6.39 billion while the destruction to agriculture was P2,.86 billion.

Earlier, however, the Department of Agriculture said the damage to the sector due to Kristine alone was already at P3.11 billion.

Kristine, the 11th storm to hit the country this year, left PAR on Oct. 25. —WITH REPORTS FROM NESTOR CORRALES AND GILLIAN VILLANUEVA