‘Crising,’ ‘habagat’ spell woes for Luzon, Visayas

HAZARD An electric post in Barangay Napsan, Puerto Princesa City, is felled on Friday by incessant rains brought by TropicalStorm“Crising.” —GERALDFORD TICKE

Numerous areas mainly in Luzon and the Visayas were battered by heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm “Crising” on Friday, some already reeling from the effects of the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) since Wednesday, leaving at least two persons dead and displacing thousands of families.

Nonstop rains also forced the suspension of classes and government and business operations in cities and towns, and prompted some local governments to place their areas in a state of calamity.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Crising disrupted the operations of at least 37 ports nationwide, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded, mostly in Eastern Visayas.

At least three fishermen were reported missing, one each in Negros Occidental, Palawan and Southern Leyte, while landslides and overflowing rivers stranded vehicles in different routes in the provinces.

In Camarines Sur, brothers Christian Benlayo, 36, and Freddy Mar, 33, were riding a motorcycle when a large acacia tree collapsed and fell upon them as they were traveling along the Gov. Fuentebella Highway in Barangay New Moriones of Ocampo town at noon on Friday. Both died on the spot, according to Police Maj. Bernardo Peñero, chief of Ocampo police.

Halted classes, port incidents

Crising was last spotted 195 kilometers east of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 km per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 80 kph while moving northwest at 20 kph, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

In Cebu City, the economic center of the Visayas, most of the urban barangays were flooded since Wednesday, causing suspension of classes, work and business operations. The city’s disaster risk reduction management office (DRRMO) recommended placing the locality under a state of calamity.

In Bohol, the capital city of Tagbilaran and 35 of its 47 towns were flooded, leading to suspension of classes on Friday, the province’s DRMMO reported.

Classes were also suspended in many localities in the Luzon provinces of Albay, Catanduanes, Quezon, Zambales, Cagayan, Isabela, Palawan and Occidental Mindoro.

In Calbayog City, Samar, two cargo vessels—MV Vinh Quang, a Vietnamese-flagged bulk carrier, and MV Poseidon 52, a Philippine-flagged general cargo ship—collided at Manguinoo Port around 8 a.m. on Friday as the vessels were being whipped by strong winds.

The PCG in Calbayog reported that the anchored MV Vinh Quang was struck by MV Poseidon 52 while it maneuvered to dock at the port. No injuries or oil spills were reported, and both vessels remained stable, the PCG said.

In Catanduanes, a barge ran aground in Virac town. The Barge Premium Portland 2, operated by Navi Shipping Company, was anchored near the Virac Port when bad weather broke its anchor, causing the vessel to drift toward the shoreline in Barangay San Vicente at around 4 a.m. PCG personnel deployed to the area reported “no oil spill or pollution.”

Evacuations

In Negros Occidental, 6,818 residents who evacuated in 13 towns and cities as of Friday morning as heavy rains continued to flood low-lying areas.

The number of evacuees were expected to increase with more still being rescued, said Irene Bel Ploteña, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division (PDMPD).

The PDMPD said a motorized banca, discovered adrift off the coast of Sagay City on Friday, has been identified to belong to a 30-year-old fisherman from the city who had been missing since early Thursday while a landslide in La Castellana town rendered the road leading to Canlaon City in Negros Oriental impassable.

Search for food

Despite the heavy downpour, some residents in Isabela pressed on with their daily routines in search of food.

In Ilagan City’s Baculod village, 35-year-old housekeeper Josephine Delleza said she ventured out to the Pinacanauan River amid the inclement weather to catch fish for her family.

“We only caught small ones, but it’s enough for a meal,” she said in Filipino.

Along the Cagayan River, fishermen Jonathan Suyu, 24, and Efren Manalo, 59, also tried their luck but came home nearly empty-handed.

“The river’s water level keeps rising, making it difficult to fish,” Suyu shared.

Officials at Magat Dam, located on the Magat River, which is a major tributary of the Cagayan River, deferred a scheduled water release due to minimal rainfall in its watershed areas in Isabela and Ifugao.

To maintain order and safety during the storm, local governments in Isabela and Cagayan, including Tuguegarao City, implemented a liquor ban, prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcohol in public. —REPORTS FROM CARLA P. GOMEZ, JHUNNEX NAPALLACAN, LEO UDTOHAN, JOEY GABIETA, GERALDFORD TICKE, MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES, DELFIN T. MALLARI JR., JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT, VILLAMOR VISAYA JR. AND GABRYELLE DUMALAG