Typhoon Pedring exits Luzon, leaves 18 people dead
(Updated 8:54 a.m., Sept. 28) Typhoon Pedring (international codename Nesat) left a path of destruction and at least 18 people dead as it crossed northern Luzon and exited to the West Philippine Sea on Tuesday, officials said.
Mass transport was disrupted and millions of residents were left without power as strong winds and incessant rains battered a large swathe of Luzon including Metro Manila, one of the areas placed under Signal No. 2 since Monday afternoon.
The Storm Signal over Metro Manila was lifted 5 a.m. Wednesday by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
"Typhoon Nesat pounded the Philippines' main island, lashing crop-growing provinces and bringing the capital to a near standstill as it flooded roads, cut power supplies and closed financial markets, government offices, transport and schools," according to a report from Reuters.
The powerful typhoon roared across dozens of provinces within a 650-km radius.
"Pedring" left 16 people in Luzon dead as it moved toward the West Philippine Sea, Office of Civil Defense administrator Undersecretary Benito Ramos said in an update Tuesday evening.
A 6 a.m. Wednesday report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the death toll from Pedring rose to 18.
Five of the casualties came from the National Capital Region, six from Region III, two from Region V, and one each from Regions I, II, and IV-A. "Karamihan dito ‘yung nadaganan ng kahoy na natumba," he explained.
Four fishermen remain missing — two of them from Marinduque, one from Camarines Norte, and another from Camarines Sur, the Civil Defense official said.
Government has rescued 109 individuals, Ramos added.
Meralco customers left without power
Dina Lomotan, spokesperson of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), said many areas in the capital and nearby provinces of Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan suffered outages as strong winds damaged power lines and uprooted dozens of trees.
She said an estimated 1.9 million or “almost close to half" of Meralco’s customers were left without power as the storm swept through the capital and surrounding provinces.
“We’re patrolling the lines... once a section is cleared, we restore the power to that circuit," she said. Lomotan added that Meralco personnel are working round-the-clock in affected areas, but could not say when electricity will be fully restored.
Huge waves pounded the seawall and destroyed the concrete barrier along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, flooding the major thoroughfare and submerging parked cars. A storm surge in Manila Bay inundated several buildings along its shoreline including the US embassy and the 5-star Sofitel Philippine Plaza hotel.
In Marikina, some 5,000 residents were forced to leave their homes after the local government raised the highest alarm as the Marikina River swelled to more than 18 meters due to continuous rains from the powerful typhoon.
In Makati, howling winds toppled billboards that blocked roads and crushed one vehicle.
In the province of Isabela, where “Pedring" made landfall shortly before dawn Tuesday, an estimated P490 million worth of crops was destroyed by the powerful storm, Isabela Governor Faustino Dy said.
Storm alerts lowered
In its 5 a.m. bulletin Wednesday, PAGASA said "Pedring" maintained its strength of 120-kph maximum winds near the center after exiting Luzon and was last spotted over the West Philippine Sea.
"Pedring" is expected to be at 500 km northwest of Baguio City by Wednesday afternoon, PAGASA said.
Storm alerts have been lowered in a number of areas but PAGASA warned that the southwest monsoon would still pose danger to residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas.
As of the 5 a.m. bulletin there were no more areas under Storm Signal No. 3 (101-185 kph winds) in PAGASA's storm alerts:
Signal No. 2 (60-100 kph winds)
PAGASA said only 121.4 mm of rainfall were recorded in Quezon City since Tuesday morning, less than half of the 341 mm dumped by Tropical Storm Ondoy over Metro Manila in 2009 during its first six hours. — With reports from Andreo Calonzo, Mark Merueñas, and Earl Victor Rosero/PE/YA/VS/RSJ, GMA News
Mass transport was disrupted and millions of residents were left without power as strong winds and incessant rains battered a large swathe of Luzon including Metro Manila, one of the areas placed under Signal No. 2 since Monday afternoon.
The Storm Signal over Metro Manila was lifted 5 a.m. Wednesday by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
"Typhoon Nesat pounded the Philippines' main island, lashing crop-growing provinces and bringing the capital to a near standstill as it flooded roads, cut power supplies and closed financial markets, government offices, transport and schools," according to a report from Reuters.
The powerful typhoon roared across dozens of provinces within a 650-km radius.
This satellite image shows the intensity of Typhoon Pedring as is exits Luzon. PAGASA
"Pedring" left 16 people in Luzon dead as it moved toward the West Philippine Sea, Office of Civil Defense administrator Undersecretary Benito Ramos said in an update Tuesday evening.
A 6 a.m. Wednesday report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the death toll from Pedring rose to 18.
Five of the casualties came from the National Capital Region, six from Region III, two from Region V, and one each from Regions I, II, and IV-A. "Karamihan dito ‘yung nadaganan ng kahoy na natumba," he explained.
Four fishermen remain missing — two of them from Marinduque, one from Camarines Norte, and another from Camarines Sur, the Civil Defense official said.
Government has rescued 109 individuals, Ramos added.
Meralco customers left without power
Dina Lomotan, spokesperson of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), said many areas in the capital and nearby provinces of Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan suffered outages as strong winds damaged power lines and uprooted dozens of trees.
She said an estimated 1.9 million or “almost close to half" of Meralco’s customers were left without power as the storm swept through the capital and surrounding provinces.
“We’re patrolling the lines... once a section is cleared, we restore the power to that circuit," she said. Lomotan added that Meralco personnel are working round-the-clock in affected areas, but could not say when electricity will be fully restored.
Huge waves pounded the seawall and destroyed the concrete barrier along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, flooding the major thoroughfare and submerging parked cars. A storm surge in Manila Bay inundated several buildings along its shoreline including the US embassy and the 5-star Sofitel Philippine Plaza hotel.
In Marikina, some 5,000 residents were forced to leave their homes after the local government raised the highest alarm as the Marikina River swelled to more than 18 meters due to continuous rains from the powerful typhoon.
In Makati, howling winds toppled billboards that blocked roads and crushed one vehicle.
In the province of Isabela, where “Pedring" made landfall shortly before dawn Tuesday, an estimated P490 million worth of crops was destroyed by the powerful storm, Isabela Governor Faustino Dy said.
Storm alerts lowered
In its 5 a.m. bulletin Wednesday, PAGASA said "Pedring" maintained its strength of 120-kph maximum winds near the center after exiting Luzon and was last spotted over the West Philippine Sea.
"Pedring" is expected to be at 500 km northwest of Baguio City by Wednesday afternoon, PAGASA said.
Storm alerts have been lowered in a number of areas but PAGASA warned that the southwest monsoon would still pose danger to residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas.
As of the 5 a.m. bulletin there were no more areas under Storm Signal No. 3 (101-185 kph winds) in PAGASA's storm alerts:
Signal No. 2 (60-100 kph winds)
- La Union
- Pangasinan
- Zambales
- Bataan
- Pampanga
- Tarlac
- Ilocos Sur
- Abra
- Ilocos Norte
- Benguet
PAGASA said only 121.4 mm of rainfall were recorded in Quezon City since Tuesday morning, less than half of the 341 mm dumped by Tropical Storm Ondoy over Metro Manila in 2009 during its first six hours. — With reports from Andreo Calonzo, Mark Merueñas, and Earl Victor Rosero/PE/YA/VS/RSJ, GMA News
posted by dewh at
1:34 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home