MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 5 - 2:50 p.m.) At least eight persons died and over 70,000 families fled their homes in the Bicol region as tropical storm “Juaning” (international codename: Nock-ten) brought what Albay Governor Joey Salceda described as a month’s worth of rains, triggering floods, prompting the suspension of classes in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces, and forcing the cancellation of some 20 domestic flights on Tuesday.
Two fishermen were also missing while six others were rescued at sea as the storm approached Luzon, said Benito Ramos of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
But Albay police director Senior Superintendent William Macavinta said they could not yet tell exactly how many persons have gone missing with several towns and villages in the province unreachable because of the heavy flooding.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration placed more areas under public storm warning signals, including Metro Manila, where Signal No. 1 raised.
As of 10 a.m., Juaning was tracked 100 kilometers northeast of Daet, Camarines Norte, moving west northwest at 19 kilometers per hour packing maximum winds of 65 kph gusting up to 80 kph.
"This storm is dangerous, especially for low-lying and flood-prone areas. The winds are not that powerful but the rains are very strong and they will cause our rivers to overflow," Ramos told AFP.
He added that the NDRRMC advised the Bicol evacuations.
In Albay, Salceda said seven persons had died and over 70,000 families had fled their homes due to rising waters.
The dead included three children – aged 4, 7 and 9 – who died in a landslide that struck Barangay Gabon, Polangui town.
Macavinta said large areas of Polangui, Libon and Pio Duran towns were submerged in floods while the Maharlika Highway was impassable to all vehicles. “So right now talaga pong medyo na-isolate ang Albay dahil maraming di puwedeng daanan yung mga sasakyan (Albay is relatively isolated because there are many roads that are impassable)," Macavinta told reporters.
Salceda said the rains that had fallen on his province for at least 15 hours were equivalent to what they normally get in a month.
Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua said one person drowned trying to swim through a river.
Signal No. 2, meaning winds of 60-100 kph, has been raised over Catanduanes, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Quezon, Polillo Island and Aurora.
Aside from Metro Manila, areas under Signal No. 1, meaning 45-60 kph, are Apayao, Cagayan, Abra, Kalinga, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Isabela, Ifugao, La Union, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Marinduque, Burias Island and Sorsogon.
The storm is forecast to be 60 km west of Dagupan City Wednesday morning and 380 km west northwest of Laoag City the next day.
The heavy rains brought by Juaning prompted the Department of Education to suspend pre-school, elementary and high school afternoon classes in the National Capital Region.
The DepEd also suspended classes in Lipa City, Batangas; San Pablo City, Laguna; and Cavite province including Cavite City.
The Commission on Higher Education has left it up to individual universities and colleges to decide whether to cancel classes or not.
The University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila announced the suspension of afternoon classes. St. Jude Catholic School near Malacanang also suspended classes.
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines suspended classes in all its Luzon campuses.
The NDRRMC also said 50 passengers and several vehicles were reported stranded in the ports of Matnog, Pilar and Pioduran in Albay. (with reports from Abigail Kwok, InterAksyon.com)
