‘Lando’ pummels Luzon

TYPHOON “Lando” slammed into northern Luzon Sunday, leaving at least three people dead and more than 30,000 people fleeing to evacuation centers.

Lando (international name: Koppu) struck Aurora province shortly after midnight, knocking down trees and power lines, demolishing houses, and triggering flash floods and landslides.

It lingered in the Aurora-Nueva Ecija area and was forecast to move toward the Cordillera Administrative Region, prompting disaster response officials to issue warnings of landslides along its path.

The biggest number of evacuated families were recorded in Isabela at 4,000 (at least 16,000 people in 11 towns and two cities) and Aurora at 3,003 (10,167 people). Evacuations were also reported in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bulacan, Benguet and Kalinga.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 24 Luzon roads were not passable due to flooding, mudslide and fallen trees as of noon Monday, among them portions of the Baler-Casiguran Road and the Dinadiawan-Madella Road in Aurora.

The fatalities included Aaron Castillo, 14, who was killed when a tree fell on three houses at Forestry Compound in Barangay Central in Quezon City. Six others, including a 3-year-old boy, were injured.

In a television interview, Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali said two people were reported to have drowned in Barangay Sapang Buho in Palayan City.

Six others were reported missing: three in Bataan, one in Abra, and two in Camarines Sur.

Herbert Vianzon, Abucay municipal administrator, said Avito Emia, Cesar Emia and Joseph Emia, all of Barangay Omboy in Abucay, set out to sea on Friday, but their relatives said they had so far failed to contact them since strong winds hit Bataan Monday.

In Abra, Ryan Tiglay, a 24-year-old farmer, was reported missing and was feared to have been swept away by a strong current at the Tineg River Monday. Tiglay had gone out to check his fish traps in the river.

Two fishermen from Calabanga town in Camarines Sur were reported missing after they ignored storm warnings and set out to sea. They were identified as Rolando Garayan, 35, of Barangay Boot State Rosa, and Rolando Alfonso, 27, of Barangay Manguring.

Civil defense officials warned bus operators and motorists against proceeding to Aurora via Cabanatuan City. Fallen trees and floodwaters rendered at least six Nueva Ecija roads

impassable. Vehicles were stranded by fallen trees blocking the provincial road in Pantabangan town Monday morning.

Since 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nueva Ecija and Aurora have been without electricity, the officials said.

Flash floods

Aurora Gov. Gerardo Noveras said flash floods caused by runoff from the mountains hit San Luis town, requiring rescue operations at past

2 p.m. for an undetermined number of families in the villages of San Isidro and Diteki.

Several families in Barangay Buhangin in Baler were being moved after the river overflowed, Noveras said. A landslide and high water level made the Villa (Ma. Aurora)-Bongabon (Nueva Ecija) Road in Sitio Kamatis and Sitio Dimani impassable to vehicles.

Strong currents on the Bungo River in Barangay Dibaraybay isolated the town of Dinalungan in Aurora, police said.

In Bulacan, floods hit the villages of Salambao and Paliwas in Obando town, and Lolomboy and Wakas villages in Bocaue town, said Chief Supt. Rudy Lacadin, Central Luzon police director. At least 108 families (540 people) had been evacuated in Obando, Paombong and Bulakan towns.

In Zambales, families were evacuated from three villages in Santa Cruz town on Sunday, officials said. At least five towns—Subic, Botolan, Castillejos, San Marcelino and Masinloc—suffered from power outages.

COLD AND HOMELESS Using tarpaulin and ropes, a man tries to provide shelter from the storm for his family on the seawall along Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Sunday as Typhoon “Lando” slams into Aurora and Isabela provinces, bringing heavy rain and powerful winds to much of Luzon. Weathermen said the slow-moving storm could stay over northern Luzon till Wednesday. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Ten Cordillera roads were cut by rockslides triggered by heavy rain, among these the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road and the Banaue-Mayoyao-Aguinaldo-Isabela Road in Ifugao.

In Pangasinan, Lando’s strong winds and rains toppled trees and cut power lines. Storm surges coinciding with high tide prompted disaster response officials to move residents of coastal communities to evacuation centers. Officials said 1,845 people from seven towns and Dagupan City had been moved.

Power outage

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said three of its major transmission lines tripped at dawn Sunday, cutting supply to the province’s power distribution utilities.

The NDRRMC said 1,760 families or 6,546 people were preemptively evacuated before Lando hit land early Sunday plodded.

Classes in 27 provinces, 23 cities, including Metropolitan Manila, were suspended until today (Monday).

The Manila Electric Co. said about 130,000 customers, or 2 percent of its client network, suffered power outages. Worst hit areas included Cavite and Rizal. Meralco said 11 of its 707 circuits were either partially or completely out due to damage caused by Lando.

In its Sunday noon update, the NDRRMC said sections of 24 roads and 10 bridges in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol and the CAR were not passable because of landslides and floods.

The typhoon also caused power outages in San Fernando City in La Union and in 18 towns in the Ilocos region, central Luzon and southern Luzon.

A total of 40 flights, which included two international flights, were canceled due to bad weather, while buses traveling the Baler, Baler-Cabanatuan and Baguio routes were told to suspend operations.

The Philippine Coast Guard monitored around 5,580 passengers, 78 vessels, 45 motorized bancas and 537 rolling cargoes stranded because of rough sea conditions.

After slamming into Casiguran town in Aurora shortly after midnight, Lando weakened slightly and slowed considerably, hemmed in by the Sierra Madre mountain range and a high-pressure area in the country’s north and another typhoon far out in the Pacific in the east, weather forecaster Gladys Saludes said.

By midday Monday, it had blown westward and further inland and was whirling over Nueva Ecija with sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 185 kph.

Satellite images show that the typhoon appeared to be losing its eye, a sign of its dissipating strength, according to acting weather bureau chief Esperanza Cayanan.

One upside

President Aquino and disaster response agencies have warned that Lando’s rain and wind could bring more damage with its slow speed. But Saludes noted less heavy rain than expected initially in some areas, including in the capital, Manila, but wind was fierce in many regions.

A wayward barge carrying coal and 10 crew drifted dangerously close to a breakwater in Manila Bay and a Coast Guard tugboat was deployed to tow it away, Coast Guard spokesperson Armand Balilo said.

“We are fortunate because as of this time there has been no need for a major search and rescue operation,” Pama said. “I must emphasize that this is just the start. People must remain alert while we try to pick up the pieces in areas already hit,” he told reporters.

One “upside” of Lando is it has replenished water reservoirs parched by the prevailing El Niño event, ensuring that Luzon farmers will not lack for water at least until next summer, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman said on Sunday.

“Our dams are filling up in spite of El Niño. Magat Dam is full, while Angat and Pantabangan dams are slowly rising,” she said in a phone interview. “Based on our projection, farmers of Luzon will have enough water to last them until the next dry season.”

La Mesa Dam, in Quezon City, which supplies Metro Manila’s water needs, was also close to the spilling level of 80.15 meters, reaching 79.04 meters as of 10 a.m., Monday, Pagasa said. Two other Luzon dams, Ambuklao and Binga, also opened gates to release water. With reports from Tonette Orejas, Anselmo Roque, Armand Galang, Greg Refraccion, Justine Dizon and Ron Lopez, Inquirer Central Luzon; Vincent Cabreza, Kimberlie Quitasol, Gabriel Cardinoza, Yolanda Sotelo, Villamor Visaya Jr., Cristina Arzadon and Jessica Tabilin, Inquirer Northern Luzon; Junnex Napallacan and Leo Udtohan, Inquirer Visayas; Mar S. Arguelles, Delfin Mallari Jr. and Kimberly Baraoidan, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Julie Aurelio, Jovic Yee, DJ Yap, Riza T. Olchondra, Jeannette I. Andrade and Jerry E. Esplanada in Manila; AP and AFP.