2 Oriental Mindoro towns under state of calamity

An aerial photo of the Buacayao river area shows flood slowly engulfing Strong Republic Nautical Highway in Calapan City as Tropical Storms “Urduja” and “Vinta” bring days of rain in South Luzon. Photos by Aristedes Leuterio of Oriental Mindoro PDRRMO

CITY OF CALAPAN – The local councils of Naujan and Baco in Oriental Mindoro province have placed their respective towns under state of calamity as Tropical Storm “Vinta” (international name: Temblin) dumped rains over some parts of South Luzon Friday.

Meanwhile, Calapan City and Oriental Mindoro provincial disaster responders have been closely monitoring Bucayao and Panggalaan rivers along the Strong Republic Nautical Highway as the bodies of water continue to swell due to days of heavy rain.

The highway is prone to flooding due to the river. On and off, the swelling rivers have stranded passengers and vehicles since Tropical Storm “Urduja” (international name: Kai-tak) which left the country last week.

On Thursday, the Philippine Coast Guard told small sea crafts plying the Calapan City to Batangas route to avoid sailing due to large waves. /je