Storm ‘Bebeng’ batters Bicol, leaves 10 people dead

LEGAZPI CITY—Tropical Storm “Bebeng” (international name: Aere) left at least 10 people dead and prompted a complaint from Albay Gov. Joey Salceda that the weather bureau had failed yet again to provide an accurate forecast that could have saved lives.

A day after the storm battered the Bicol region, hundreds of vehicles were stranded at the Maharlika Highway in Labo, Camarines Sur, until noon Monday while many areas were still without electricity, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.

DANGEROUS GAME Young boys at play seek cover as giant waves spawned by Tropical Storm “Bebeng” (international name: Aere) slam into a seawall in Navotas City on Monday. JOAN BONDOC

Thirty foreign tourists were stranded on Calaguas, an island-resort in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, OCD said.

Raffy Alejandro, OCD regional director, said that of the nine fatalities, six were from Camarines Sur and three from Albay.

Those who drowned were Lourdes Lanteno, 58, of Daraga, Albay; Jesus Paloma, 45, of Libon, Albay; and Mario Nunez, 52, and Rolando Balandia, both of Nabua town in Camarines Sur.

The landslide victims were Marcel Ruelan, 19, Princess Ruelan, 8 months old, and Marco Sanchez, 7, all of Balatan town in Camarines Sur.

The two other fatalities were Arnulfo Pesito, 23, of Libon, Albay, who was electrocuted; and Aristeo Sabido, who was killed in a road mishap in Lupi, Camarines Sur.

The Bulacan disaster office said Rose Anne Gatdula, 13, was killed while playing at Barangay Pungo in Calumpit town when she touched a live wire dangling from an electric post.

Gross miscalculation

Bebeng slammed Catanduanes province on Sunday with winds gusting up to 100 kilometers per hour. It swirled northward with weakened center winds of 75 kph and was located at 4 p.m. Monday 50 km east of Tuguegarao, heading north toward Taiwan at 15 kph.

Airport authorities said 13 domestic flights were cancelled Monday.

Salceda at a press briefing blasted the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warning system as the storm approached.

“PAGASA somehow committed gross miscalculations in providing the public and disaster authorities accurate data on the impact and effects of … Bebeng as it hovered (over) Bicol.”

The “defective” warning system and villagers refusing to heed directives to evacuate caused the deaths, Salceda said.

Salceda asked PAGASA to issue an advisory of possible weather disturbance five days before it enters the Philippine area so that authorities can make the necessary disaster preparations.

He also plans to work with a telecommunications company for the building of a Disaster Information Board wherein 15,000 SIM cards would be issued to every village and town in the province to be used during disaster operations.

Vehicles marooned

The Department of Public Works and Highways reported that hundreds of vehicles bound for Manila were stranded at the Maharlika Highway in Labo, Camarines Norte, since 9 p.m. on Sunday as the waters from Namukanan Bridge overflowed. The road was finally opened at noon Monday.

The OCD reported that that the Rinconada area in Camarines Sur was still without electricity.

Despite apprehensions, there were no major reports of flooding or landslides in Central and northern Luzon.

Senior weather forecaster Rene Paciente said Metro Manila would experience sunny weather starting Tuesday but predicted that the southwest monsoon sucked inland by Bebeng could prompt intermittent rainshowers in the western seaboard.

Paciente said summer is far from over. “The highest temperature is usually recorded in May,” he said.

Andrew Villacorta, agriculture director in Central Luzon, said light to moderate rains benefited sugarcane farmers. He said 79 percent of the region’s rice area had been harvested and farmers were preparing for the wet season cropping when the storm struck.

Rains welcomed

In Bulacan, operators of Ipo Dam in Norzagaray town released water Monday after the reservoir’s elevation reached 100.92 meters above sea level (masl), which was near its spilling level of 101 masl.

In Isabela province, power supply was cut in several areas but no storm casualty was reported.

Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon Jr. said the rainy season was a welcome reprieve. “It’s about time it rains. We are ready for the rainy season,” he said.

Gordon had ordered the dredging of the Kalaklan river system responsible for the flooding in the city during heavy rains.

Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said the provincial government was monitoring the situation in Botolan town, which was engulfed by floodwaters two years ago after the dikes there were breached. The dikes had been repaired.

“These can withstand the strength of very powerful storms,” he said.

Major roads in the Cordillera Administrative Region remained open, including Halsema Highway used to ferry vegetables to Metro Manila. Reports from Kristine A. Alave, Jerry E. Esplanada in Manila and Tonette Orejas, Robert Gonzaga, Anselmo Roque, Armand Galang and Carmela Reyes, Inquirer Central Luzon, and Villamor Visaya Jr., Yolanda Sotelo and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon