September 3, 2024
MANILA – A total of 13 people have so far been reported to have died following nonstop rains brought by Tropical Storm Enteng on Sunday and Monday, reports from disaster response agencies and local governments showed.
Malacañang on Monday ordered the continued suspension of classes at all levels as well as work in government offices in Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region on Tuesday due to the projected rains expected to be spawned by the combined effects of the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) and Enteng (international name: Yagi).
In Antipolo City, seven people were killed due to landslides and drowning.
Relly Bernardo, head of the Antipolo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said three people died from landslides, while the other four died from separate drowning incidents.
The landslide victims included a 27-year-old pregnant woman and two children, he said in a radio interview.
Four people—Jemimah Ibuña, 17, and Claire Dosdos, 27, of Cebu City, and Federico Sabangan Sr., 76, and his son, Federico Jr., 29, of Biri town in Northern Samar—died in separate landslides in Cebu City and Northern Samar.
In Bicol region, the Naga City police said an 8-month-old baby girl was pronounced dead on arrival in a local hospital after she was found unconscious and floating in the flooded bedroom of their house in Barangay Calauag on Monday morning.
A second fatality, identified only as “Juancho,” was electrocuted while checking his shop in the flooded street of Barangay Concepcion Pequeña in Naga on Sunday.
Injured, missing
Rescue operations were also ongoing to look for three missing fishermen—Fidelino Amboy from Borongan City and Ernesto Ayaton, 63, from Taft in Eastern Samar; and Lorenzo Gasque, 62, from Kawayan town in Biliran.
According to their families, the three have not returned to their homes since Saturday when they separately went out to the sea to fish.
According to Rei Josiah Echano, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in Northern Samar, four residents of the village were also injured and were all taken to the Biri District Hospital for treatment.
At least 1,395 families were affected by the floods after Enteng brought an extraordinary amount of rainfall.
“Based on the climatological analysis of Pagasa, around 230 millimeters (mm) of rain was expected for September 2024. However, in just the first day of the month, and in less than 18 hours, Enteng dropped that entire projected rainfall volume, flooding 60 percent of the affected local government units,” he said.
Seaports closed
According to the partial report from the Office of the Civil Defense, Enteng has affected 4,155 residents in Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Catanduanes and Masbate.
The heavy downpour also forced more than 900 people to evacuate on Monday after massive floods submerged low-lying areas in the provinces of Albay and Camarines Norte.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also said on Monday that 14 seaports in the Calabarzon and Bicol regions were nonoperational due to bad weather and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said more than 2,400 people were stranded in ports in Eastern Visayas and Bicol.
Critical areas
National Capital Region Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said 434 police personnel have been deployed to critical areas to secure vital installations and to assist in traffic management, while another 597 police personnel were on standby to respond to emergencies, including search and rescue.
Bad weather also forced the suspension of the siphoning operation for sunken motor tanker Terranova that sank off Bataan province in July, according to the PCG.
A passenger vessel also caught fire off Navotas City on Monday following an allision with a cargo vessel amid heavy rains, the PCG said. MV Kamilla was stationary when it was hit by cargo vessel LCT GT Express at the Navotas anchorage area.
The 18 crew members abandoned the distressed vessel and were later rescued.
In Marikina City, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said 1,617 families or 4,587 people were in evacuation centers.
Power outage, canceled flights
More than 28,000 consumers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) also suffered power interruptions on Monday due to heavy rains and strong winds brought by Enteng.
In an advisory as of noon on Monday, Meralco said the bulk of the affected customers live in Metro Manila and Cavite, with the rest in Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, Batangas and Quezon provinces.
The Department of Energy said four electric cooperatives in Calabarzon, Bicol and Eastern Visayas faced outages and restoration efforts were ongoing.
Meanwhile, at least 67 domestic flights on Monday in different airports in Luzon were canceled due to the inclement weather.
According to the Manila International Airport Authority, which operates Ninoy Aquino International Airport, 29 flights were canceled going to and from Manila, Daraga, Calbayog, Busuanga, Zamboanga, Masbate, Virac, Caticlan and Iloilo.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) said 38 flights of Caap-operated airports were suspended, leaving more than 300 passengers stranded as of 5 p.m. on Monday.
New cyclone coming
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that Enteng made its first landfall over Casiguran, Aurora province, at 2 p.m. on Monday.
Enteng, which is forecast to enhance the southwest monsoon, bringing gale-force gusts in several parts of Luzon including Metro Manila, is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by Thursday.
However, state meteorologists also pointed out that there is a possibility of another tropical cyclone to develop in the next two weeks.
Pagasa said that this might develop within the eastern portion of the monitoring area covered by the weather bureau and is expected to enter PAR within the weeks of Sept. 9 to 15.