TYPHOON 'CHEDENG' LEAVES 7 DEAD

[A San Juan resident earns a few bucks by ferrying this female employee using a makeshift banca along F. Roman street. – photo by BOY SANTOS, courtesy of PhilStar]
Manila, May 28, 2003  (Star) Seven people were killed as tropical storm "Chedeng" (international code name Linfa) smashed into central and northern Philippines, causing landslides, uprooting trees and producing widespread floodings, rescue officials reported yesterday.

Eight fishermen from Infanta town were reported missing in Pangasinan.

Chedeng picked up strength as it tore into Luzon with peak winds of 105 kilometers per hour and hurricane-force gusts of 130 kph raking across a 300-kilometer radius.

President Arroyo suspended work in all government offices and government-controlled corporations by 12 noon and ordered officials to deploy trucks to help stranded commuters as Chedeng pummeled Metro Manila — half of which were flooded — and other parts of the country.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the storm would "continue to enhance the southwest monsoon and bring moderate to heavy rains over the western sections of Luzon as well as the central islands."

Storm-induced rains triggered a landslide that buried five houses in Barangay Dolores, Taytay, Rizal killing a seven-month old boy and injuring three other people.

In Bulacan, three children playing near the river in Marilao and Meycauayan towns drowned when strong currents swept them away after a heavy downpour.

In Barangay Tebag in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan, a giant mango tree was uprooted and fell over an owner jeep, killing two people — Virgie Salud, 47 and driver Arthur Sinocob, 45 — and critically injuring a third person, Alvin de Leon, who was rushed to the Sacred Heart Hospital in Urdaneta City by bystanders.

Salud and Sinocob were reportedly residents of Lipa City in Batangas who were travelling to Dagupan City.

Police and local government workers dug for hours to recover the body of Jefferson Linga in Purok Mangahan, Barangay Dolores in Taytay when his family’s shanty was swept away by cascading mud and soil brought about by heavy rains.

However, Linga’s mother, Imelda, 31; sister Angelika, 12; and housemate Angelo Calingat sustained only body injuries and are now being treated at the Taytay District Hospital.

In Bulacan, police identified the victims as Chris Lyn and Jane dela Cruz, both 13 years old of Marilao, and Juan Ibañez, 2, of Meycauayan.

A landslide inside a state forestry compound in Benguet killed a pregnant 18-year-old woman and injured three other people, the Office of Civil Defense reported.

Flash floods hit Metro Manila, Bulacan

Continuous rains triggered flooding in almost half of Metro Manila and Bulacan.

The Bulacan Provincial Disaster Coordinating Office (PDCO) reported that 17,390 families were affected by floods in Meycauayan, Obando and Marilao. Three to four feet deep flood water inundated most roads in Meycauayan and were declared impassable for both light and heavy vehicles, the PDCO reported.

In Valenzuela City, 12 barangays were submerged in four-foot deep floodwaters, affecting at least 610 families.

Flash floods also hit several parts of Metro Manila, especially the low-lying areas which were submerged in floodwaters up to six feet deep.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Metrobase reported that the deepest level was at Barangay Holy Spirit near Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City where families were rescued from their submerged homes by MMDA rescue teams on rubber boats as early as 8 a.m.

In Sto. Niño de Leyte Shrine in Diliman, five people were rescued after floodwaters quickly rose to about six feet.

Flooding was also reported in barangays Lower Bicutan and Hagonoy in Taguig, a perennially flooded area in Metro Manila. Taguig Mayor Sigfrido "Freddie" Tinga said, however, that as of yesterday, none had to be evacuated from their homes.

"These are just flash floods. But the situation is going to be dangerous if the rains continue. We’re watching and preparing," Tinga said in a phone interview.

He added that a disaster preparedness program is now in place should floods worsen. A multibillion-peso dike is now under construction to address the town’s flooding problem. But the dike would not be ready until 2005.

Other areas where substantial flooding were reported include Tonsuya in Malabon and Old Antipolo, Leonor Rivera, Tomas Mapua, J. Abad Santos, Maceda, Dimasalang and Maria Clara, all in Manila.

Manila’s major thoroughfares were also flooded and impassable to light and heavy vehicles, causing traffic jams. Some 20 families from Isla Puting Bato in Tondo had to be evacuated as floodwaters rose up to chest level.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza placed on 24-hour alert the Manila Disaster Operations Center to monitor low areas in the city that might be hit by floods with the onset of the rainy season.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, who also chairs the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), ordered the dispatch of rubber boats, amphibian trucks, ambulances and M35 trucks to the flooded areas. Philippine Navy rescue teams with rubber boats were also deployed.

Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco ordered five police district directors to put on standby six-wheeler trucks and heavy equipment to help ferry stranded commuters.

In perennially flooded Malabon City, Mayor Amado Vicencio has mobilized all local agencies to respond quickly to emergency situations strictly monitoring six critical barangays — Niugan, Dampalit, Panghulo, Santulan and Tonsuya, where water level ranged from thigh to chest.

Caloocan City Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo said his city suffered the least in Metro’s northern part as flooding was limited to the Dagat-Dagatan area and the C-3 road. However, the stretch of EDSA fronting the Manila Central University (MCU) Hospital, including the area around the Bonifacio Monument, was submerged in knee-deep waters, snarling traffic for hours.

By noon, however, the MMDA said most of the floodwaters at the heavily flooded areas had already subsided to manageable levels.

Mrs. Arroyo also ordered local government units to report to the NDCC and for the agency to coordinate with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the speedy delivery of relief goods.

The Chief Executive ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to speed up work on the CAMANAVA flood control project as this, she said, is the only way to control massive flooding.

For the last 10 months, the MMDA has been implementing flood control measures in Metro Manila given a very limited budget.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said that when the flood control responsibility was turned over to the MMDA by the DPWH, it had only P20 million left in its budget, enough to cover only the salaries of the flood control personnel for the rest of the fiscal year.

With the budget, the MMDA had only been able to clean up the secondary waterways such as creeks and esteros of garbage and silt.

Fernando said that what is needed is to dredge the major waterways and improve the drainage systems.

Other rainy day woes

As heavy rains were battering Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon yesterday, the National Power Corp. (Napocor) assured that power supply remains stable as generation of its hydro plants was placed at 365 megawatts.

The Napocor Operations Group has also said that flood-prone areas in the northern provinces were not in danger of being affected by rising water from Napocor-controlled dams because of very low water level before the onset of the typhoon.

Napocor said that the water level in the Binga Dam in Itogon, Benguet, the Ambuklao Dam in Bokod, Benguet, and the San Roque Dam in Pangasinan was several meters from the critical level or the top of gate level before they decide to open the spillgates.

The government has warned though that the Guagua river north of Manila and the Agno river in the north were in danger of overflowing after up to 122.6 millimeters (nearly five inches) of rainfall in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, even the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was not spared from the effects of heavy rains. Leaking roofs were reported inside Terminal 1’s fourth floor corridor, the Gate 15 Boarding Lounge at the departure area, in between the east and west concourses at the arrival area and near the x-ray machine.

At the fourth floor corridor, there were reportedly at least eight plastic pails and two large plastic drums to catch rain water. Janitors rushed to wipe the wet floors as departing passengers complained.

Sources said roofs at Terminal 1 started leaking as early as 1994 but only minor repairs were done.

Celestino Connel of the operations division said that offices at the NAIA Terminal 1 were scheduled to transfer at the Terminal 3 last January. However, due to the court cases that its builder is now facing, the move has been delayed.

The NAIA, however, said that despite the continuous rain due to typhoon Chedeng, no flight has been canceled. — Mayen Jaymalin, Non Alquitran, James Mananghaya, Eva Visperas, Felix de los Santos, Vic Alhambra Jr., Marvin Sy, Nikko Dizon, Mike Frialde, Jerry Botial, Sandy Araneta, Cecille Suerte Felipe, AFP