CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Weather experts appealed to local chief executives in typhoon-affected provinces to implement total evacuation in flood-affected villages as a brewing storm is forecast to batter Northern Luzon next week.
While the new weather disturbance is currently a low pressure area, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the warm waters of Pacific gave it the needed strength to develop into a tropical depression.
Pagasa said the low pressure area was estimated at 700 kilometers east of Visayas as of 5 a.m. Sunday.
Set to be codenamed “Ramon”, the 18th storm that will enter the country on Monday is following the path traversed by Typhoons Pedring (international codename: Nesat) and Quiel (international codename: Nalgae).
“Unfortunately, the upcoming storm is taking much the same route as Typhoon Pedring and Quiel. We will continue to give updates as soon as we have them,” senior weather forecaster Mario Palafox told reporters.
The new storm is expected to hit the Cagayan-Batanes area on Friday next week.
For now, Pagasa is focused on Quiel, which slammed eastern province of Isabela on Saturday morning.
Pagasa, in its 5 a.m. Sunday weather bulletin, said Quiel slowed down and weakened as it continues to move westward.
Quiel was at 200 kilometers west of Baguio City, packing winds of 130 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 180 kph at 4 a.m.
Storm signal number one remains over Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Benguet, Zambales, and Pangasinan.
Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate their homes after Quiel slammed ashore south of northeastern Palanan Bay in Isabela.
The fast-moving typhoon blew westward, barreling across the mountainous regions of Luzon Island. It weakened slightly as it reached the shore of La Union province around 4 p.m., about seven hours after it made landfall.
"The ground is still supersaturated and it cannot absorb more water," said Graciano Yumul, the weather bureau chief. "This will just flow down to rivers and towns, and there is a big possibility that landslides, flash flooding and flooding could occur."
He urged residents, who are still refusing to leave their homes despite the floods from Typhoon Pedring, to evacuate because the water was going to rise as Typhoon Quiel, aggravated by the seasonal monsoon, dumped more rain over the northern region, Manila, later Saturday.
Yumul said the evacuation is "non-negotiable" because lives are at stake.
At least five towns in the rice-growing province of Bulacan and Pampanga remained submerged three days after Typhoon Pedring had moved on.
Hilton Hernando, officer-in-charge of Pagasa assigned at the Pampanga River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (PRBFFWN), recommended total evacuation in areas still submerged in floods caused by Typhoon Pedring.
“The Pampanga River is already saturated. If we need pre-emptive evacuation then we should do it to our barangays, before it’s too late. The rains brought by the new storm (Quiel) will surely outpour in the Pampanga River,” Hernando said in Filipino.
Governor Lilia Pineda was concerned over the unwillingness to evacuate by some residents, living near the Pampanga River, especially near the Arnedo Dike, which she said was badly damaged and leaves no protection for folks in the fourth district towns where floodwaters have reached 12-foot deep.
Some 35,000 families or 175,000 residents in the areas are being requested to evacuate for their own protection and safety.
“But there will be no forced evacuation. Capitol will continue to monitor and support their needs and address their concerns,” the governor told reporters Saturday.
“The main plan is to save lives. That is why, it is important that the village chiefs should immediately convey to their constituents the message that there is a need to evacuate since Signal No. 2 was hoisted, and reports say that floodwaters could rise to as high as 18 feet,” the governor said.
But despite the impending danger, San Luis Mayor Asiong Macapagal said he prefers to stay in his town, which is 12 feet under floodwaters, rather than temporarily relocate his constituents in a safer place.
In San Simon and Apalit towns, several residents who previously refused to evacuate have voluntarily vacated their houses and moved to a safer place. They were assisted by the Provincial Rescue Team, members of the Philippine Army and Navy.
Pineda also ordered the immediate creation of action centers in the flooded barangays near the Pampanga River, in the towns of San Simon, San Luis, Macabebe, Candaba and Masantol.
Benito Ramos, executive director of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), said rescue boats would be sent for the residents before nightfall.
Elsewhere, Ramos said there had been no contact with several coastal towns facing the Pacific Ocean that were in the path of the typhoon hours after it made landfall.
There was no electricity and mobile telephone cell sites had been damaged and communication to the area would be re-established after the typhoon passed, he said.
Civil defense officer Evaliza Agamata of Nueva Vizcaya — one of the four provinces facing the Pacific that are affected — said 5,000 people had been ordered evacuated from there, adding to 6,000 still in evacuation centers from the earlier typhoon.
Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II instructed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to strengthen coordination with local government units in preparation against Quiel’s ferocious winds and heavy rains.
The PCG was also instructed to warn all vessels to stop from setting off in seas.
Roxas said vessels that have already been sailing in Philippine seas will be recalled to immediately return to shores for their safety and protection.
“We are conducting precautionary measures to ensure the safety of our citizens and vessels sailing in our seas in line with the expected severe weather condition this weekend,” he said.
In the last four months, prolonged monsoon flooding, typhoon and storms across Southeast Asia, China, Japan and South Asia left more than 600 people dead or missing. (Herbert Mapiles and Jovi T. de Leon of Sun.Star Pampanga/Virgil Lopez/AP/Sunnex)
