‘Auring’ weakens; floods remain

GAME TIME There’s no stopping a group of children in Bunawan town in Agusan del Sur province from playing basketball in a submerged court in their village of Nueva Era. Tropical Depression “Auring” hit Caraga region on Sunday and Monday, flooding low-lying villages.—CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur—Landslides and swollen rivers have made roads and bridges impassable to vehicles in parts of the Caraga region even as Tropical Depression “Auring” blitzed through Mindanao and sections of the Visayas.

On Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) lifted all public storm warning signals over the Visayas and Mindanao, as well as Palawan after Auring weakened into a low pressure area (LPA) after hitting the Mindanao landmass.

However, the state weather bureau still warned that the LPA would still bring heavy rains over southern Luzon and parts of the Visayas until Wednesday while it slowly moves toward the West Philippine Sea.

Aldczar Aurelio, Pagasa forecaster, said provinces in the Bicol region and the Samar provinces will experience moderate to occasionally heavy rains. Residents in these areas, he said, should watch out for possible flashfloods and landslides.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Caraga said rains since last week triggered several landslides in Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur provinces. Motorists and commuters were stranded after falling rocks and mud blocked the national highway in Carrascal town in Surigao del Norte and in Jabonga, Agusan del Norte.

Rivers in Lanuza and San Miguel towns in Surigao del Sur overflowed, swamping bridges, while a main road in Lucena village in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, was flooded.

Auring forced 3,493 families to evacuate low-lying areas in 30 towns of the region, OCD-Caraga said.

On the surfing island of Siargao in Surigao del Norte, several resorts were damaged by strong wind on Sunday night.

In the province of Compostela Valley, at least two villages remained flooded on Monday.

Raul Villocino, provincial disaster action officer, said flooding has subsided in most of Compostela Valley’s 11 towns, with water levels receding in the Manat and Agusan rivers as the weather improved early Monday.

Classes were suspended in public elementary schools in Magsaysay and Basak villages in Nabunturan town as portions of these communities were still under water.

Vilocino said residents who sought shelter in evacuation centers in Montevista, Compostela and New Bataan towns had already returned to their homes.

In Cebu province, a 15-year-old girl drowned after she was swept away by floodwaters following heavy rains dumped by Auring.

The body of Hannah Bea Villaflores was recovered at 11:40 a.m. on Monday in Barangay Landahan, Toledo City.

Alexander Abella, city disaster risk reduction management officer, said Villaflores was assisting a motorist when strong water current knocked her down and swept her away.

Several villages in Toledo, including Captain Claudio, Canlumampao, Cambang-og, Carmen and portions of Poblacion were flooded since Sunday night.

As of Monday noon, at least 20 families were still staying at the Barba Sports Complex in Toledo.

In Iloilo province, ships carrying more than 1,000 passengers stranded in several ports were allowed to sail before noon on Monday after Auring was downgraded into an LPA.

Lt. Cmdr. Ramil Palabrica, Coast Guard Iloilo station commander, said all vessels grounded at ports in the province were cleared to travel starting 11 a.m. after the weather bureau lifted the storm warning in Iloilo, Negros provinces, Antique, Guimaras, Capiz and other areas in the country.

Palabrica said Marlo Alamano, 40, who was drunk, drowned at a beach resort in Dumangas town in Iloilo on Sunday but authorities did not consider his death as storm-related. Alamano’s body was found by a search team at 5:30 a.m.  Monday, 600 meters off the coast of Barangay Sapao in Dumangas.

With maximum sustained winds near the center of 55 kph and gusts of up to 70 kph, Auring crossed Siargao Island at 3 p.m. Sunday and Dinagat province at 4 p.m. while traversing Caraga.

It gradually weakened while it continued to move toward the Visayas, making landfall over the southern tip of Panaon islands in Southern Leyte at 6 p.m. on Sunday and over Ubay, Bohol shortly before 5 a.m. on Monday.

By the time the center of Auring reached Cebu at 8 a.m. Monday, it had weakened into an LPA.

“By Wednesday or Thursday, the [LPA] will be out of the Philippine area of responsibility on its way to Vietnam,” Aurelio said, adding Luzon will experience the northeast monsoon again on Thursday. —REPORTS FROM DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN, CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN, FRINSTON LIM, MICHELLE PADAYHAG, NESTOR P. BURGOS JR. AND ROBERT DEJON