2 kids drown in swollen river as rains won’t stop

Two children crossing a river swollen by days of rains drowned on Monday in Allen, Northern Samar, as bad weather continued to bring floods and fears of landslides in parts of the Visayas and Bicol.

PO1 Norben Carbonera, of the Allen police station, on Thursday identified the children as Felipe Jason Olitan Jr., 8, and his younger sister, Shirlyn Mae, residents of Barangay Londres, more than five kilometers from the town center of Allen.

The siblings, police said, were on their way home from Sta. Rita Elementary School in Barangay Sta. Rita, 300 meters from Londres, past 4 p.m. when they crossed the Londres River that had been swollen by relentless rains.

The children’s bodies were found floating in the river more than three hours after they started to cross it.

The drowning prompted the Office of Civil Defense in Eastern Visayas to alert local disaster councils to check for landslides and floods on a 24-hour basis.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the Visayas, Central and southern Luzon and Mindanao would continue to experience rains.

In Albay, authorities suspended classes up to secondary level following heavy rains on Wednesday.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda quoted Pagasa as saying while there was no low pressure area or storm brewing, a weather phenomenon called wind convergence was causing the rains.

He advised people in the province residing in low-lying areas to take extra precaution.

Floods rendered a section of the Maharlika Highway in Daraga town impassable to motorcycles and light vehicles. With a report from Rey Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon