‘Odette’ leaves 2 dead

MANILA, Philippines—Although Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Usagi) has exited the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), it is still anticipated to continue to enhance the southwest monsoon, locally known as “hanging habagat,” and bring rains over Luzon and portions of the Visayas.

Described by meteorologists as the most powerful typhoon anywhere on earth this year, Odette killed two people in the Philippines and unleashed landslides in Taiwan en route to Hong Kong and China. There were no details available on the deaths.

The weather bureau said it expected skies to remain cloudy until Wednesday because of the southwest monsoon in effect over Luzon.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecasters warned against possible flashfloods and landslides in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), as well as Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region on Monday triggered by moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms spawned by the southwest monsoon.

Pagasa also warned of a monsoon surge which is expected to affect the seaboards of northern and Central Luzon as well as the western seaboard of southern Luzon. Fishing boats and other small seacraft were advised against venturing into the sea while larger vessels were alerted to big waves with sea conditions anticipated to be rough to very rough.

At least 30 international flights were canceled and one of the world’s busiest sea ports was shut down as Odette moved farther away from the country and barreled toward Hong Kong Sunday.

Odette packed winds of 165 kilometers per hour as it closed in on China’s densely populated Pearl River Delta, forcing residents in vulnerable areas to tape up windows and stock up on supplies.

The Manila International Airport Authority announced that flights of Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Dragon Air to and from Hong Kong and other parts of China had been grounded.

Cebu Pacific also issued an advisory saying that flights from Cebu, Clark and Iloilo bound for Macau and Hong Kong were canceled.

In San Pedro, Laguna, 13-year-old Emar Pintazon, of Barangay (village) B. del Mundo in Mansalay, was reported missing with his fishing boat after he sailed at the height of bad weather in Mansalay in Oriental Mindoro on Saturday.

Mimaropa Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) Director Eugene Cabrera said details as to how Pintazon got lost alone at sea were still being verified.

On Sunday morning, seven persons were rescued by the Batangas disaster response team after the boat they were on capsized. The group was on its way to Nasugbu, Batangas, from Taytay, Palawan, according to the DRRMC in Calabarzon.

In Occidental Mindoro, hundreds of families were affected by the floods.

Cabrera said the Caluwagan River in Paluan town and the Pola and Salagan Rivers in Sta. Cruz town overflowed around 1 a.m. Sunday, causing flashfloods and damage to agriculture.

A total of 366 families (1,468 people) remained in evacuation centers in Sablayan town after three of its villages—Victoria, Lagnas and Claudio Salgado—were submerged in knee- to chest-deep water. Thirty-three families (81 people) fled their homes in Abra de Ilog town late Saturday, said Cabrera.

“They are still in evacuation centers as advised. The rains, although stopping from time to time, dump huge amounts of water, preventing the flood from receding,” Cabrera said in a phone interview on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the weather bureau has spotted Tropical Storm “Pabuk” over the Pacific Ocean in the far northeast of the country outside the PAR.

Senior weather forecaster Jori Loiz said Pabuk, somewhere in the northeast passing through Japan, is slightly tugging at the southwest monsoon but there is little possibility, based on weather models, that it will enter the PAR on its current upward track.—With a report from AFP