Typhoon ‘Kabayan’ heads for Japan

Tropical Storm “Kabayan” strengthened into a typhoon Saturday but the weather bureau said the new weather disturbance was too far away to directly affect any part of the country and was headed for Japan.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said rains would continue in the western section of Luzon and the Visayas due to the southwest monsoon.

Pagasa also warned of flash floods and landslides in Bataan, Zambales and Pangasinan, which would continue to experience moderate to heavy monsoon rains.

The rest of the country would be mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms.

As of Saturday afternoon, Kabayan was spotted 1,030 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora. It has maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph. It is moving north at 11 kph.

By this morning, it was expected to be 1,130 km east of Aparri, Cagayan, and 1,090 km east northeast of Basco, Batanes, by Monday.

As this developed, Tropical Storm “Juaning’s” death toll climbed to 50 yesterday, mostly in the Bicol region with Albay province having the most number of fatalities. It also displaced at least a million people.

Among the counted fatalities in Albay was the mother of Albay Governor Joey Salceda.

Cielo Adelina Sarte Salceda, 89, of Polangui town, slipped on the flooded floor of her house at the height of the storm. She was rushed to the hospital but died hours later.

In its latest report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 40 were injured and 25 remained missing, including 19 fishermen whose boat, the FB Hope Christy, sank on July 27.

The NDRRMC placed total damage from Juaning at P1.466 billion, with P1.24 billion to infrastructure and P223.5 million to agriculture.

Civil defense officials in the region are appealing for potable drinking water, the restoration of the power supply and the clearing of blocked roads in some parts of Bicol.

In heavily devastated Malinao town in Albay, Army troops from the 9th Infantry Division were mobilized to clear flooded roads and repair water pipelines in several villages.

Bernardo Alejandro, head of the Office of Civil Defense-Bicol (OCD-Bicol), said displaced residents in the provinces of  Albay, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes needed potable drinking water.

He said some areas of Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon and Camarines Norte were still without electricity. With reports from Mar Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon, and DJ Yap