FLASHFLOODS KILL 16 IN AURORA PROVINCE
[PHOTO AT LEFT - VIOLETA’S WRATH: Photo taken by Philippine Air Force rescue personnel shows mud washed down from barren mountains by flashfloods in Dingalan town in Aurora.]
MANILA, November 24, 2004 (STAR) By Sandy Araneta - Fresh rains and flooding killed up to 16 people in Aurora province yesterday as tropical depression "Violeta" worsened the death toll to 45 from a week of bad weather, officials said.
Violeta (international code Merbok) crashed into the east coast of Luzon, just days after Typhoon "Unding" left 29 dead. The storm dumped heavy rains that unleashed flashfloods, sweeping away residents and homes in the towns of Dingalan and San Luis in Aurora. Some 2,000 families were forced to flee to evacuation centers, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.
Dingalan was the hardest hit, suffering most of the fatalities and with about 200 houses damaged, the OCD said. Barangay Paltik in Dingalan was severely affected by the storm.
Among those killed was a three-year old child who died while being treated at the Cabanatuan City hospital.
Rescuers also found an unidentified body floating in a river.
Air evacuation was used on seven people who reportedly sustained severe injuries from the calamity and brought to nearby hospitals.
Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla said heavy rainfall prompted flashfloods in areas south of Baler near the foot of the southern Sierra Madre mountains.
Aside from Dingalan and Baler, the towns San Luis and Casiguran are also underwater, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.
In San Luis, disaster officials reported one death while in Baler, search and retrieval operations were underway to find three missing persons swept away by rampaging floods.
Padilla said one military helicopter plucked three children to safety from flooded shorelines near Dingalan town, but that the inclement weather was hampering further rescue operations.
"The area is inaccessible by road and the weather is not getting better," Padilla said, adding casualty and damage reports from the remote town were sketchy.
He said the children — ages 6, 11 and 16 — were believed hit by logs during flashfloods. They were airlifted to Cabanatuan City for treatment and one was reported in serious condition.
OCD officials said military trucks and rubber boats were also dispatched in the area to help with the rescue.
The flashfloods triggered by heavy rains in the northeastern part of the country brought the death toll to 45 since Typhoon "Unding" (international code Mufia) capsized boats and toppled trees and utility lines in Southern Luzon over the weekend, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said.
After lashing the Bicol peninsula early last week, Unding went for a second pass at the weekend before plowing through the islands of Marinduque, Mindoro and Coron on its way to the South China Sea.
Oriental Mindoro was worst hit by the typhoon with thousands of hectares of rice fields inundated and more than 3,450 houses damaged.
Some 84 others, mostly fishermen, were reported missing from the weekend typhoon in the provinces of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Quezon and Romblon provinces.
Officials said the death toll of 29 would probably rise as hopes for finding survivors faded.
At least 89 others were injured, officials said.
Over 9,700 houses were destroyed by the first storm while initial damage estimates to agriculture, infrastructure and private business hit P147.5 million, the OCD said.
Television footage showed houses with its roofs blown away by the strong winds and walls collapsed in Bongabong town.
"Kakaiba talaga. Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng ganu’ng klaseng bagyo (It was nothing like I’ve ever seen)," a resident said.
Another appealed to Vice President Noli de Castro, a native of Oriental Mindoro, for aid.
National Food Authority Administrator Gregorio Tan said the damage brought about by Unding to rice in the province "was not that high" as most of the farmers had just finished harvesting.
The local government units of the towns of Pinamalyan, Pola Gloria, Bansud, Bongabong, Roxas, Mansalay and Bulalacao reported a damage of P873 million to infrastructure, communication, power lines, crops, livestock and fisheries.
Roxas municipality has issued an appeal to the national government for assistance.
The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) also asked for support in order to sustain its relief operations for more than 17,000 families affected by Unding in Camarines Sur and Mindoro Oriental.
PNRC chairman Richard Gordon said they urgently need P16.7 million to last three days of relief assistance for the typhoon victims that include food and supplies.
Violeta’s path of destruction left several roads in Aurora province blocked by floods or landslides, hampering rescue efforts. Damage estimates were not yet available.
The NDCC reported that the road from Bongabong to Baler was unpassable due to a landslide in Barangay Villa in Baler. The Dingalan Bridge was also washed out.
Army units have started sending rescue teams but have been finding it difficult to reach trapped residents.
The Air Force said Dingalan had been isolated by floods and was running out of food and supplies, prompting the municipal government to request for assistance from the NDCC.
Another 89 people were injured from Violeta’s wrath. Some of the over 200,000 displaced people have reportedly started returning home even as heavy rains continued to pound the region.
Classes in elementary and secondary schools were suspended in Nueva Vizcaya as well as some areas in Isabela, Cagayan and Quirino provinces.
Thousands of commuters were also stranded in the Dalton Pass area in the Nueva Vizcaya-Nueva Ecija boundary due to intermittent road closures since Monday night due to minor landslides.
At least 20 families living in low-lying areas along the Magat Riverbank in Nueva Vizcaya were evacuated to safer grounds as the Magat Dam’s water level continued to rise.
But irrigation officials assured the situation of the dam in Ramon, Isabela is under control.
The Philippines is lashed by 17 to 20 typhoons every year. The most destructive in recent times was "Uring" (Thelma), which struck Leyte island in November 1991 and unleashed floods in Ormoc City that drowned about 5,000 people. – With reports from Jaime Laude, Joe Leuterio, Reuters, AFP