Cebu mainland spared from brunt of Storm ‘Ramon’; 2 killed
Storm “Ramon” didn’t carry the wallop many Cebuanos expected.
It came earlier than forecast at 6 a.m. yesterday and blew quickly over northern Cebu.
Two men were killed, a tricycle driver in Cordova town who was electrocuted and a tuba vendor in Toledo City where a footbridge collapsed.
The biggest infrastructure damage was in Borbon town, 82 kilometers north of Cebu City, where a portion of the national highway collapsed in sitio Canlagang, barangay Don G. Antigua.
The road section was impassable for 17 hours until 4 p.m. yesterday amid heavy rain and strong winds.
The concrete road remained “hanging” above loosened soil after a landslide. The caved-in portion, further eroded by heavy rain, spanned 20 meters long and 10 meters wide.
Cebu will still have scattered rain and cloudy skies in the days ahead but no strong winds, said Leonar Samar of Pag-asa Mactan.
Storm “Ramon” changed course when it made landfall in Southern Leyte. Instead of heading for Cebu, it went to Panay island, up to Palawan and then Luzon province packing 55-kilometer-per-hour winds.
Yesterday’s rains dumped 42.7 millimeters of water in Cebu, which was higher than October’s average rainfall of only 6 millimeters, said Samar.
In Borbon town, buses and other vehicles were allowed to pass through the collapsed road about 4 p.m. after workers poured some filling materials as a temporary remedy.
About 645 cubic meters of filling materials are needed to make it safe again for vehicles to pass, said maintenance foreman Elly Commendador of the 5th engineering district of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Helen Urot, a Borbon resident, said in her 29 years living there, she hadn’t seen that kind of damage in the town.
By 11 a.m., the Pagasa weather bureau lifted all public storm warning signals over Cebu province.
Oscar Tabada, chief of Pag-asa Mactan, said “Ramon” made landfall over Southern Leyte at dawn and passed northern Cebu about 6 a.m.
Cebuanos were expecting the storm to hit later in the afternoon or early evening based on earlier Pag-asa forecasts.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said she was relieved that the mainland was spared the brunt of the storm, which happened to fall on her 56th birthday.
She said Cebuanos should offer thanksgiving “to the Señor Sto. Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe … for I truly believe that Cebu was protected and spared from what would have been graver consequences.”
She said local governments were “able to take charge” and “manage” the situation.
The Capitol sent heavy equipment to help repair a collapsed provincial road in barangay Curva in Medellin town. The road connects Bogo City and Daanbantayan town in the north.
The Coast Guard lifted its order grounding vessels for Bohol and Leyte since the storm signals were also lifted at 11 a.m., said Cebu Coast Guard Commander Rolando Punzalan.
But vessels for Iloilo were not yet allowed to sail as of press time because of storm warning in areas in Western Visayas.
In Cebu City, minor landslides, some uprooted trees and fallen electric posts were reported due to the continuous rains that started Tuesday night.
But no lives were lost or injuries reported.
A small landslide covered part of a barangay road in Busay and lower Kalunasan.
The two deaths reported during the storm occurred in Mactan Island and Toledo City in the west coast.
Tricycle driver Bienvenido Cañete, 64, died after touching a fence wall of galvanized iron in Cordova town. A live wire of the electric post of the Mactan Electric Co. had come in contact with the wall.
The victim who stayed home because of the bad weather was playing mahjong with friends. He stepped out to buy a lotto ticket and passed through a flooded alley where he accidentally touched the grounded wall at 6 p.m.
In Toledo City, a 30-year-old tuba gatherer died and two companions were badly injured when a steel footbridge collapsed past noon in barangay Cambang-ug.
The bridge was earlier declared off limits by the barangay captain because of its dilapidated condition and the downpour the night before.
The fatality, Wilfredo Sabroso, and two other men were carrying two gallons of coconut wine or tuba when the accident occurred.
In Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City, a coconut tree fell on two houses when strong winds blew about 1 a.m. yesterday.
Nobody was hurt. The house owners were evacuated earlier and safe in the barangay hall. Many trees were felled by the strong winds, said Zacharias Baron, barangay treasurer.
The storm’s impact was focused in north Cebu.
In Bantayan Island almost 300 houses in Madridejos town were damaged by flooding along with six barangays in Bantayan town, where cornfield and cassava farms were also damaged.
In Daanbantayan town, Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot said there was no major damage except for some cornfields.
“I’m here along the seashore and our weather is so calm,” said Poro, Camotes Island Mayor Luciano Rama Jr. at 6 a.m.
He expected the storm yesterday evening after strong wind and rain fell Tuesday starting 8 p.m. till midnight. But he said there was no major damage except for a mahogany tree that was uprooted.
In Mandaue City, 70 families in barangay Subangdaku were evacuated the night before as a precaution and 15 families in Orel, Banilad.
They stayed at the San Roque Parish gym, Subangdaku Elementary School and Banilad Elementary School.
The preemptive evacuation was done on late Tuesday evening on fear that the Mahiga Creek would overflow, but yesterday morning, some families returned home.Pooled reports of Candeze Mongaya with Doris Bongcac, Jhunnex Napallacan, Carmel Loise Matus, Rhea Ruth Rosell, Fe Marie Dumaboc
