AT least four people were killed in separate landslides in Benguet and Rizal on Thursday as the combined effects of tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay, and the southwest monsoon (habagat) continued to affect nearly 81,000 people across the country, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.
In Benguet province, a hillside gave sway and collapsed on a small restaurant on Thursday, burying three employees who had been in the kitchen.
“One is alive. Two were dead on the spot,” Col. Dionisio Bonoy of the Benguet provincial police told reporters.
“At 10 a.m., the survivor was retrieved. That was our priority earlier. With the help of God, we hope he survives.” The country’s national disaster agency separately confirmed two others had been killed in a landslide in Rizal province the day before.
Search and rescue operations were still under way in both areas as of Thursday, with authorities set to begin clearing operations immediately after rescue efforts are completed. Local government units are also preparing to extend assistance to the victims and their families.
The disaster agency said the incidents are still being validated to determine whether they were directly caused by the combined effects of Tropical Cyclone Maymay and the enhanced southwest monsoon.
Pending validation, the fatalities have not yet been included in the government’s official disaster statistics.
Full alert
Malacañang announced that it has placed the NDRRMC on “full alert” while securing over P1.6 billion in standby funds to respond to Tropical Cyclone Maymay and the southwest monsoon.
In a press briefing, Palace Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro announced that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed all disaster agencies to execute prompt measures to guarantee public safety.
“In total, more than 5 million family food packs have been prepared by the government for the affected areas, while P1.6 billion in standby funds will be allocated to the entire country. The president and the government are ready for any disaster,” said Castro in Filipino.
Authorities have ordered mandatory preemptive evacuations in flood-prone communities, landslide hazard zones and low-lying coastal areas.
In Metro Manila, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Don Artes mobilized emergency rescue teams and specialized equipment across the capital.
“The MMDA also has coordination with all disaster risk reduction and management offices and 17 local government units in Metro Manila,” Castro said.
To mitigate urban flooding in Metro Manila, mobile pumps have been prepared and all 73 drainage pumping stations are operating at full capacity.
Castro said the nearly P1.8 million in direct humanitarian assistance has been mobilized for affected communities by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Initial distributions of family food packs, ready-to-eat meals and sleeping kits have been dispatched to Benguet, La Union, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Albay and Zamboanga City.
Castro said that local emergency units remain on high readiness to ensure immediate assistance reaches vulnerable sectors throughout the storm’s duration.
Four days of heavy rain
Luzon has been battered by heavy rains over the past four days.
Flooding persisted in 83 areas across the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Zamboanga Peninsula and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, while government agencies and local disaster councils continued monitoring affected communities.
As of the NDRRMC’s 6 a.m. situation report on Thursday, a total of 23,946 families, or 80,633 individuals, had been affected by tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay, and the southwest monsoon in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, the Cordillera Administrative Region and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
A total of 39 evacuation centers remained operational, providing temporary shelter to 2,215 families, or 6,929 individuals, displaced by flooding, landslides and other weather-related hazards.
The NDRRMC also reported damage to 12 houses.
The government has so far distributed about P1.38 million worth of humanitarian assistance to affected families through local government units and national agencies.
Earlier Thursday, government meteorologist John Manalo said sustained winds were at about 55 kilometers per hour, as the depression, formerly Tropical Storm Maymay, moved toward the Philippine Sea.
“Severe winds can still affect most parts of the country,” he warned.
“Since our land is already saturated and soaked, the potential for flooding and landslides will be higher.” The Philippines is the first major landmass facing the Pacific cyclone belt, and the archipelago is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, putting millions of people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is making extreme weather more frequent, prolonged and intense.
