Parts of Luzon, already pummeled by Typhoon “Egay” last week may suffer more of the same as tropical storm “Falcon” is threatening to intensify into a typhoon between Sunday night and Monday morning and to reach peak intensity on Tuesday.
The state weather bureau said Falcon intensified while accelerating northward over the Philippine Sea, affecting land areas.
The southwest monsoon, enhanced by Falcon, will bring rains over the western portions of Luzon and the Visayas over the next three days, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
The center of the eye was estimated at 1,170 km east of extreme Northern Luzon, and the storm was moving northward at 20km/h, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 135 km/h.
The rains from typhoon Egay and the enhanced southwest monsoon, meanwhile, have caused the water level at the La Mesa Dam to rise, PAGASA said.
“Excess flood water in La Mesa Dam will overflow in the event that the dam elevation reaches 80.15m,” it added.
Residents living in low lying areas in Quezon City, Valenzuela City and Malabon City are advised to stay alert due to the rising water level at the La Mesa Dam.
The dam’s excess water is expected to affect low-lying areas along the Tullahan River in Quezon City (Fairview, Forest Hills Subdivision, Quirino Highway, Sta. Quiteria, and San Bartolome), Valenzuela (Brgy. Ligon, North Expressway, La Huerta Subdivision) and Malabon.
Egay, which exited the Philippine area of responsibility last week, caused about P5.9 billion in damage, disaster officials said.
Damage to infrastructure was pegged at P4.4 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said in its latest report, with agricultural damage estimated at P1.5 billion.
The death toll from the combined effects of Egay and the southwest monsoon (habagat) climbed to 16, with 52 hurt and 20 missing.
The typhoon also left more than 1 million residents affected, equivalent to some 291,262 families, across 13 regions in the country.
More than 30,000 residents fled their homes, with half of them seeking refuge in 330 evacuation centers nationwide.
A total of 17,334 people were also evacuated in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas, the NDRRMC said.
The council reported close to 22,000 houses damaged, with total damage pegged at P344,000.
The government is now conducting an inventory to determine the number of public schools in Northern Luzon that were affected by typhoon Egay, ahead of the opening of classes next month.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said his sister, Senator ImeeMarcos, had suggested the inventory be conducted when she accompanied him to visit typhoon-hit areas in Northern Luzon.
The chief executive presided over on Saturday a series of briefings inBangued, Abra; Laoag City in Ilocos Norte; and Tuguegarao City, Cagayan. The President also conducted aerial inspections of the affected areas in Abra and Ilocos Norte.
Some 40 areas declared a state of calamity due to the devastating effects of Egay and the southwest monsoon, including the town of Sanchez Mira in Cagayan as well as the entire Abra and MountainProvince.
Some local government units (LGUs) in Central Luzon are under a state of calamity due to the massive floods caused by the southwest monsoon and typhoon Egay.
Sto. Tomas is the latest LGU in this province to be placed under such a state following a special session of the municipal board on Sunday morning.
On Saturday, the LGUs of Macabebe, San Simon and Masantol were alsoplaced under a state of calamity, citing the severe flooding in the communities that displaced some residents and the damage to agriculture and fisheries.
Bataan Gov. Jose Enrique Garcia announced Saturday night that the entire province is under a state of calamity due to floods in low-lying areas and the considerable volume of agricultural crops destroyed.
“The continuous rains in the past days caused flooding and damage to properties, houses and livelihood of our residents from the towns of Dinalupihan, Morong, Bagac, Samal and Limay,” Garcia said in Filipino.
The Bataan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said damage to agriculture such as palay, corn and high-value crops, as well as fisheries, was initially estimated at P22.38 million.
The Bataan PDRRMO reported that 639 families or 2,357 individuals are temporarily staying in evacuation centers.
In Bulacan province, Pulilan, Paombong, Calumpit towns are also under a state of calamity due to massive destruction to agriculture brought on by continuous moderate to heavy rains the past days.
Gov. Daniel Fernando said a province-wide state of calamity will be declared on Monday as per the recommendation of the PDRRMO headed by Manuel Lukban.
Hundreds of Bocaue residents in Bulacan were forced to flee their homes as massive floods triggered by monsoon rains hit the town over the weekend.
At least 400 people or about 100 families sought refuge in the Bocaue Public Market, where some of them have been staying since the rains started pouring on Thursday.
The Bocaue River reached its critical level of 12.5 meters on Sunday. As of 7 a.m., the floodwaters in Barangay Igulot were reported to be chest-deep.
Several vehicles were also stranded along the MacArthur Highway as floods made the road impassable.
Parts of Luzon including Metro Manila have been experiencing continuous rains brought by the southwest monsoon (habagat) enhanced by Falcon.
According to the state weather bureau, the monsoon rains will continue to pour over Luzon and parts of Visayas in the coming days.
Damage to agriculture in Bulacan was initially placed at P12.2 million.
Some 3,727 families or 14,407 individuals were displaced and brought to various evacuation sites.
A declaration of a state of calamity would allow the use of the calamity fund to aid affected residents and would also freeze prices of basic commodities in the affected areas.
As of noon Sunday, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 3 reported that some roads are still impassable to light and heavy vehicles due to floods. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
In Pampanga, some portions of Apalit-Macabebe-Masantol Road, BahayPare-San Luis-Sto. Domingo Road,and Candaba-San Miguel Road are not passable to all types of vehicles.
The Sto. Tomas-Minalin Road in the tail dike section and the Macabebe section is passable only to heavy vehicles.
In Zambales, the Yamot Bridge detour road is not passable to all types of vehicles.
In Marikina, city officials said there was no more flooding after the waters of the Marikina River went down to their normal level. As of noon Sunday, the water level in the river was 14.9 meters.
The Marikina Public Information Office said all floodgates in Manggahan Floodway are open to accommodate the flood waters from the Marikina and Pasig rivers.
Meanwhile, the state-run National Electrification Administration and the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association deployed Task Force Kapatid, a special unit of technical workers, to aid in the power restoration efforts in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan affected by typhoon Egay.
About 32 line workers and support personnel equipped with 11 boom trucks and service vehicles from different electric cooperatives in Central Luzon left their respective headquarters on July 28 and traveled to Ilocos Norte.
Manila Electric Co. also extended assistance to hasten power restoration activities and aid the families severely affected by typhoon Egay. They coordinated with the local government units of Ilocos Norte and INEC.