4 dead as ‘Mario’ continues to move away from PAR

Children play with their cellphone, at an evacuation center after heavy monsoon rains spawned by tropical storm Fung-Wong (local name Mario) flooded Marikina city, east of Manila, Philippines and most parts of the metropolis, Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. AP

MANILA, Philippines—As Tropical Storm “Mario” continues its upward path out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, it has left four people dead in its wake, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Friday.

In its 10 p.m. update, the NDRRMC said that two-year-old Althea Gaviola, 69-year-old Erlinda Centeno, 31-year-old Tomas Prino Barol and one-month-old baby Javier Jevania Mateo died during the onslaught of “Mario.”

According to the NDRRMC, Gaviola died of drowning in Bagong Silangan, Quezon City while an uprooted tree was the cause of the tragic death of Baby Javier.

Barol, a resident of Barangay Villaflores, Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya was buried under mud and rocks and Centeno of Montalban Heights, Rodriguez, Rizal died due to head injuries after a fall.

In the hourly update from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the center of Tropical Storm “Mario” was estimated at 133 kilometers northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte at 1:00 AM Saturday.

“Mario” packs maximum winds of 75 kilometers per hour and gusts of 90 kph.

Apart from the four who died under “Mario,” NDRRMC said that five were also injured and one Ernesto Guevarra, 55-years-old, from Barangay Pasong Tamo, Quezon City is missing.

Guevarra was last seen in Dario Creek.

NDRRMC added that a total of 114,250 families or 513,361 people have been affected across Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Central Visayas and Metro Manila.

Of those affected, 20,763 families or 83,077 people are inside 77 evacuation centers.

Also, a total of 2,480 passengers were stranded as of 4 p.m. with 15 vessels, 254 rolling cargoes and seven motorized boats were stranded due to rough sea conditions according to the Coast Guard District Central Visayas and Coast Guard District Bicol.

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