REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
UPDATED as of Sept. 20, 2014
5:43 a.m.
MANILA, Philippines (ENS) — More than half a million people were affected by tropical storm “Mario” as it dumped heavy rains in Metro Manila and other areas in Luzon, triggering flashfloods, causing dams to overflow and displacing thousands of affected residents across Luzon island on Friday.
The storm also left at least four people dead, five injured and one missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). The fatalities were identified as two-year old Althea Gaviola from Bagong Silangan, Quezon City, who died due to drowning; Erlinda Centeno , 69, from Montalban Heights, Rodriguez, Rizal who died due to a head injury; landslide victim Tomas Prino Barol, 31, from Brgy. Villaflores, Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, and month-old Javier Jevania Mateo who was hit by an uprooted tree.
Those who were listed as injured were Michelle Manrique, 29, and 9-month old Xyza Villanueva, 29, of Pitong Gatang, Navotas; 11-month old Ashley Lopez of San Mateo, Rizal; Edmundo Callueng, 39 of Cataggaman, Pardo, Tuguegarao City; and Suarding Calpasi, 67, of Tubungan, Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya.
One person, Ernesto Guevarra, 55, of Brgy. Pasong Tamo, Quezon City, was also reported missing. He was last seen in Dario Creek.
A total of 114,250 families 0r 513,361 persons were affected in Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Mimaropa regions, Central Visayas and National Capital Region or Metro Manila, the NDRRMC’s 10 p.m. update said.
Of this number, those who were affected by high floods were either forced to evacuate or chose to wait for floods to subside in their homes. At least 20,763 families or 83,077 persons were placed inside 77 evacuation Centers while 1,297 families or 6,108 persons chose to stay outside evacuation centers.
Classes were suspended in all levels, as well as work in government and private offices as the storm lashed across Luzon, beating up Metro Manila, and nearby provinces which were placed under “red” rainfall warning. As torrential rains were felt across Luzon, the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, and later on even Bataan and Zambales were placed under “red” rainfall warning, meaning these areas received up to eight gallons of rainwater per square meter per hour, or 30 millimeters of rain per hour.
Provinces under the orange warning signal were down to just two by 3 p.m. namely Quezon and Pampanga.
Class suspension for all levels were declared in the CALABARZON area or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, as well as in Metro Manila, Tarlac, Bulacan, Pangasinan, Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Nueva Ecija, Marinduque, and Camarines Norte. Ilocos Norte, meanwhile, suspended classes from pre-school to high school.
The financial markets were also closed because of the heavy rains, as the storm further enhanced the southwest monsoon or “habagat”.
Thousands of residents in low-lying areas were moved to higher ground, officials said, as flood waters rose quickly after the equivalent of half a month’s usual rain fell in six hours.
Thousands of families were evacuated in metropolitan Manila’s biggest city,Quezon City, where people in low-lying areas were trapped in their homes.
More than 27,000 people were evacuated in Marikina City in the eastern part of the capital where a river burst its banks, said Del De Guzman, city mayor.
Floodwaters reached the second-storey of some houses, where residents stayed on their roofs.
“Our home is submerged in floods. All our things have been washed out in the currents,” an evacuee, Vivian Rodriguez, said.
Rescuers worked around the clock to evacuted residents from their waterlogged homes.
“We should find a way to evacuate the people, especially those in the community of Tatalon, where we heard people have been trapped and are stuck on their roofs,” a rescuer, Edwin Tinasol, said.
The Philippine Stock Exchange suspended trade after the government canceled work and classes in the capital.
Tropical storm Fung-Wong, with maximum winds of 85 kph (50 mph) and gusts of up to 100 kph (62 mph), made landfall at about noon in the northern rice-producing region of Cagayan, weather forecasters said.
The storm was moving west northwest at 22 kph (13 mph) towards the South ChinaSea and was expected to leave land by late on Friday, forecasters said.
Civil aviation authorities said 40 domestic flights were canceled and six international flights from Singapore, Thailand and China to Manila were diverted to other Philippine airports. Some flights were delayed.
La Mesa dam in Manila overflowed, the meteorology agency said. PAGASA also monitored that the Ipo dam in Bulacan also reached its critical level of 101 meters. As of 4 pm, the dam’s water level reached 101.74 meters.
Fung-Wong is the second tropical storm to hit the northern Philippines in two weeks, days after typhoon Kalmaegi swept northern provinces. Last year, typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines killing more than 6,300 people.
An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. (Eagle News Service with a report from Reuters)