Storm surge hits 5-star hotel; guests evacuated

MANILA, Philippines - As typhoon “Pedring” pummeled Metro Manila yesterday, waves as high as the coconut trees on the Sofitel’s back lawn washed out everything in its path, surging through the building’s famed Spiral Café on the lower level and prompting an evacuation of all hotel guests.

“Spiral is gone!” exclaimed an eyewitness, referring to the café with the most extensive buffet in town.

Eyewitnesses who asked not to be named said the evacuation was orderly, with no injuries or mishaps. They commended Sofitel general manager Goran Alecks for his calm but quick response to the onslaught of the wall of water on the hotel, which eyewitnesses said had left the structure “badly damaged.”

At the time the waves struck, the hotel had 65 percent occupancy.

Management billeted the evacuated guests in neighboring hotels.

The hotel guests seemed to have been part of the more than 4,000 people in Manila that had been evacuated due to the onslaught of the typhoon.

Local officials led by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim ordered the forced evacuation of more than 1,000 families, or about 4,000 people, mostly from the squatter colonies near Manila Bay.

City Administrator Jesus Marzan said a total of 835 families had to be evacuated from Isla Puting Bato in North Harbor.

At least 300 families were moved out from the Baseco Compound, Sitio Lamayan, Parola Compound and Del Pan in Tondo.

Around 110 people, mostly construction workers, were rescued from the US embassy compound along Roxas Boulevard that was also inundated by the storm surge.

The storm surge also rendered both lanes of Roxas Boulevard almost impassable to vehicles.

The vicinity of Rizal Park fronting Quirino Grandstand went under chest-deep floodwaters.

The floodwaters, the heavy downpour and the strong winds also caused problems for motorists, who had to negotiate the roads littered with garbage and fallen trees.

The storm also forced power outages in Metro Manila, which officials said were caused by toppled power lines.

As power outage hit households in the entire Metro Manila yesterday, coffee shops were a hit as people braved the strong winds in search of power outlets for their gadgets.

Inside a mall in Quezon City, students and professionals filled coffee shops carrying their laptops, tablets and cellular phones to be plugged and recharged.

Some even brought with them extension cords to maximize electric connection and be able to plug in all their gadgets simultaneously.

A male law student, who had been transferring from one crowded coffee shop to another in search of an available power outlet, said he had to carry all his gadgets to be recharged.

The same was true for a Malacañang official, who was down with flu but had to leave home to have all his gadgets plugged.

When the female official checked on Twitter, a “tweet” from Meralco said power supply was down in almost all of Metro Manila.

This was the reason she thought the power outage could last a long time.

The idea that she could lose communication with her cellular phone about to go off forced her to go out and scout for a place with a power outlet.

Outside the same mall, ornamental trees lined up leading to one of the entrances were felled by strong winds.

Those that were still standing had to be supported by wooden braces.

Along EDSA, numerous billboards had to be taken down to prevent any accident that could be caused by the strong winds along the major thoroughfare.

Quezon City’s Department of Public Order and Safety chief Elmo San Diego said they responded to more than 30 calls to cut down uprooted trees and clear city roads.

San Diego said that in Fairview alone, they responded to calls of 18 uprooted or felled trees blocking major roads or in danger of falling on houses.

“We have pre-positioned our rescue teams and rubber boats in the barangays to make it easier for our teams to respond to emergencies,” San Diego said. –With Sandy Araneta, Reinir Padua