DISASTER response officials say the first typhoon to hit the country this year has left two people dead, five missing and 16 others injured.
Office of Civil Defense administrator Benito Ramos and the state weather bureau Pagasa said tropical storm “Ambo” (international name Mawar) was blowing away off the mountainous northern Philippines yesterday toward southern Japan with sustained winds of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph).
Ramos says two children drowned in a swollen river in western Palawan province, which was not directly hit by the typhoon but was lashed by heavy rains.
He said five men, mostly fishermen, are missing and 16 people were injured in stormy weather. About 20 storms batter the country each year.
Despite Ambo’s exit, weather analyst Boy Artiaga of Pagasa’s Mactan office said Cebu will experience cloudy skies and rough seas and warned people living near the rivers to be careful.
Artiaga advised the public to bring along umbrellas.
Alvin Santillana, chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the city government is preparing contingency measures to deal with the rainy season. AP with a story from Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol