2 hurt as steel structure falls on cars in Makati City

MANILA, Philippines—Howling winds tore down a steel structure near the railroad crossing along Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City on Tuesday morning, with the metal frame hitting three vehicles and injuring two motorists, Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay said.

The debris from the metal structure, which bore advertisements and was said to have been leased by a private group, rendered the portion of the road, formerly known as Buendia Avenue, impassable to all vehicles, forcing traffic to be rerouted to side streets like De la Rosa and Malugay Streets, which were heavily flooded, Binay said (By early afternoon, the steel structure had been removed from the thoroughfare.—Editor).

Overseeing the clearing operation past noon, the Makati mayor said the structure had been in place for years now, even surviving typhoon Milenyo in 2006 and storm Ondoy in 2009.

“Our problem right now is the strong winds, the rains aren’t that much,” he said.

The metal structure fell on three vehicles, a passenger bus, a sedan and an SUV, its rear portion crushed during the impact. Emergency responders from the Makati police and rescue unit brought the sedan’s driver and passenger to the Makati Medical Center hospital for treatment and they have been declared out of danger, Superintendent Jaime Santos, the Makati City police officer in charge, said.

Santos identified the victims as Leandro Torres and his wife, Lorenza Garcia, both employees of the Government Service Insurance System.

According to Santos, the couple was on their way home to Muntinlupa City when they passed the railroad crossing where the structure was. When the metal frame fell, it directly hit Torres’ car, a red Toyota Corolla (TBB 327).

A Mitsubishi Pajero (XGX 213), driven by Alan Victoria, and a passenger bus (TYS 587) were also hit by the structure, according to the police official.

The winds also felled a tree along Ayala Avenue and workers from City Hall’s engineering department cleared the road, the official said. Workers were trying to salvage the tree, he added.

No evacuations were made in the city as most informal settlers who lived in critical areas have been relocated years ago in Calauan, Laguna, according to Binay.

Elsewhere, city governments in Southern Metro Manila ordered the evacuation of residents living near bodies of water and heavily flooded areas as a preemptive measure from the rains and gusts of wind spawned by typhoon Pedring.

Authorities suspended work in local government offices, maintaining only emergency service personnel on its ranks.

In Muntinlupa City, Mayor Aldrin San Pedro ordered the evacuation of 183 families living in three barangays (villages), near the Laguna de Bay and one of its tributaries.

Some 120 families who lived in Barangay Sucat and 52 families in Barangay Cupang were brought to evacuation centers, as well as 11 families in Barangay Culi, city information officer Omar Acosta said in a text message.

Acosta said the rising water in Laguna de Bay due to the heavy, intermittent rains prompted San Pedro to order an evacuation of residents in Sucat and Cupang, which were coastal barangays.

The rise in the lake’s water, meanwhile, caused Kabulutan Creek to swell and it threatened residents of Barangay Culi, the official said.

“The evacuees were taken to Sucat and Cupang elementary schools, which served as temporary shelters,” Acosta said.

On the orders of Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr., around 600 families were evacuated from various Parañaque barangays and were temporarily housed at the Barangay San Dionisio Gym and the La Huerta Elementary School and gym, the city’s public information office said.