Typhoon ‘Ineng’ death toll reaches 14

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—A weakened Typhoon “Ineng” (international name: Goni) headed toward Taiwan on Sunday after battering northern Philippines, leaving at least 14 people dead, 10 others injured and 16 missing.

The state weather bureau lifted all storm warnings hours before Ineng swirled out of the country on Sunday night.

Though weakened, Ineng still packed sustained winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 170 kph as it swept past Batanes province, headed toward Taiwan, where thousands of people living on the east coast were evacuated.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Ineng continued to enhance the southwest monsoon, causing rains in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the Ilocos Region, Zambales and Bataan provinces, and the Calayaan and Babuyan Islands off Cagayan province.

Deadly landslides

Ineng hit northern Luzon hard, causing landslides and floods. Most of the deaths were caused by landslides.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the deaths were reported in Mountain Province, Benguet and Ilocos Norte.

At least three of the missing were from La Union, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan. At least 10 people were reported injured in Mountain Province, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Batanes and Cagayan, the NDRRMC said.

The NDRRMC reported at least nine landslides in Mountain Province, Benguet and Oriental Mindoro; 15 flash floods in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Oriental Mindoro and Metro Manila; five tornadoes in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Ecija and Laguna; two river swellings in Ilocos Sur; and the collapse of a bailey bridge in Ilocos Sur.

The council said 32,648 people were evacuated in Ilocos, Cagayan, Cordillera and Calabarzon regions and relief goods worth P481,574.40 were distributed to the evacuees.

The Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque dams, all on the Agno River Basin, released water as they neared their spilling levels, the NDRRMC said.

Ineng affected 119 municipalities in 19 provinces, the council said.

Small-scale miners

In Benguet, Gov. Nestor Fongwan called the province’s electricity distributor, Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco), on Sunday and asked it to speed up the restoration of power to the mining town of Mankayan, where miners, soldiers and policemen were frantically searching for survivors of a massive landslide on Saturday that swept away several small-scale miners’ shanties.

Ineng was unexpectedly fierce because it dumped heavy rains and its winds toppled trees and electric posts, particularly in Mankayan, said Gerardo Verzosa, Beneco general manager.

Because there was no electricity, rescue efforts were stalled on Saturday night and when the creek began to swell due to heavy rain in the province.

But some residents did not let up their own search.

Lilian Faliao, a resident, said the victims where encamped in shanties put up for small-scale miners when the waterlogged mountainside gave way at 3 a.m. on Saturday in Sitio (settlement) Elizabeth, Barangay (village) Taneg.

Taneg residents and volunteers began digging through mud, rocks and debris, while other rescuers scanned the creek below, Faliao said.

Authorities said 18 people were initially listed as missing, but two of them—Joni Tomalban Foster and Marpite Tomalban—were not at the pocket mining site when the accident happened, Mankayan Mayor Materno Luspian said.

On Sunday, rescuers found the bodies of Crispin Ablao, Armando Dayao and Felimon Adcapan.

In a separate incident in Kalinga, rescuers in Tabuk City recovered the body of Julius Gumisa, 23, who was swept away by a strong current in the Chico River in nearby Mountain Province.

Mankayan has lost more lives to the typhoon than any other Cordillera town this week.

Earlier on Saturday, Noel Lubante Jr., 21, and his partner, Nora Mae Diaz, 17, who was 6 months pregnant, were found dead after a landslide buried their house in Sitio Cotcot in Barangay Bulalacao in Mankayan, police said.

These incidents in Benguet and Kalinga raised the death toll from Ineng to 14.

On Friday, separate landslides in Mankayan killed pocket miner Glen Poloc Baldasan, 27, who was on his way home, and Michael Martin Lagasan, 59, when his vehicle was buried by mud and rocks.

Road cuts

Damage due to road cuts along Halsema Highway in the Cordillera reached P1.9 million, according to the Benguet police. Halsema Highway is the main road used by truckers to transport vegetables from Benguet farms to Baguio City and Metro Manila.

Kennon Road, a major route to and from Baguio City, remained closed on Sunday as government personnel cleared a massive landslide. Marcos Highway and Naguilian Road, the other routes to the summer capital, were open on Sunday amid heavy rain in the area.

The NDRRMC said Ineng destroyed over P124 million in infrastructure and agriculture.

Damage to infrastructure was P121,480,000 and to agriculture, P3,338,483.33, the council said.

Floods, outages

In the Ilocos Region, Ilocos Norte and the first congressional district of Ilocos Sur, from Vigan City to Sinait town, lost power on Sunday due to the toppling of a 115-kilovolt steel tower along the Santa Maria River in Barangay Nagtupacan in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur.

Lilibeth Gaydowen, northern Luzon corporate communications and public affairs officer of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, said repairs had started but workers had to wait for the swollen Santa Maria River to subside to complete all work needed to restore power.

Portions of the national highway in Candon City and Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, were flooded and remained impassable on Sunday.

Governors Imee Marcos (Ilocos Norte), Ryan Singson (Ilocos Sur) and Eustaquio Bersamin (Abra) ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in their provinces on Monday due to the impact of the typhoon.

Ineng left more than P401 million in infrastructure damage and more than P55 million in farm damage in Ilocos Norte, records from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed.

Marcos on Sunday urged the Department of Energy and generating companies in the Ilocos Region to get together and work out a faster way of redirecting power to the province, fearful that the blackout may last for two weeks.

She also directed local gasoline stations to stock up in preparation for a rise in demand from commercial establishments, hospitals and government offices that would operate using generator sets.

Reports said roads in eight villages in Solsona town, six in Dingras, two in Bacarra and one in Banna remained impassable due to floods.

NDRRMC Executive Director Alexander Pama said responders were concentrating on the towns of Santa and Caoayan in Ilocos Sur, which were isolated after the collapse of a bridge there.

The villages of Puro, Pantay-Tamurong and Villamar in Caoayan, and Oribin, Dammay, Calumbuyan, Casiber and Rancho in Santa were isolated after the Calumbuyan bailey bridge collapsed, Pama said.

“We are concentrating on sending food and medicines there, which should have been done earlier but our helicopters can’t make it because of the foul weather. Our choppers will fly as soon as the weather clears,” he said.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said 700 to 1,000 families were isolated in the two towns, which are near the Abra River.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said 10,000 food packs in La Union were on their way to Santa and Caoayan and 50,000 more would be loaded on Philippine Navy ships at Sangley Point, Cavite province, for the two towns.

Angat Dam level

The water levels at dams in Central Luzon rose fast as Ineng dumped rain in the region, data from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed.

In Bulacan, water in Angat Dam increased from 180.60 meters above sea level (masl) on Friday to 181.79 masl as of 6 a.m. on Sunday. The dam, which provides more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s supply, was still below its 210 masl spilling level.

Water elevation in the Ipo Dam, also in Bulacan, increased from 99.80 masl on Friday to 100.40 masl, putting it close to the 101 masl spilling level.

The Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija took in more water, with reservoir levels climbing from 181.39 masl to 184.22 masl. The elevation, however, was still below the dam’s 216 masl spilling level.

In Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, 37 residents in Barangay Piut remained in a school after a tornado destroyed their houses on Friday.

In Olongapo City, a mudslide damaged two houses in Purok 13 in Barangay Barreto while a tree fell on a house in Barangay Kalaklanalso on Friday.

In Zambales, rescuers on Saturday afternoon began a search for Alim Adaoag, 18, who disappeared while helping pull one of several dredge floater assemblies to shore in Barangay Santo Rosario in Iba town.

On Friday, fishermen started removing the dredge floater assembly from their village’s shoreline because they feared huge waves would push the equipment and hit their houses.

As of Saturday, only 17 of 39 dredge floater assemblies, which were found in waters off Zambales in July, were moved to the shore.

At least nine domestic flights were canceled on Sunday due to bad weather.

The Manila International Airport Authority said six flights of Philippine Airlines, two Cebu Pacific flights, and an AirAsia Zest flight were canceled.–Reports from Kimberlie Quitasol, Leoncio Balbin Jr., Leilanie Adriano and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon; Tonette Orejas and Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon; Donna Z. Pazzibugan and Jeannette I. Andrade in Manila; and AFP