Death toll from typhoon Karen hits 8

MANILA, Philippines – Typhoon “Karen” (international name Nuri) left the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday after battering several provinces in Luzon and leaving at least eight people dead and over P6 million worth of damage to infrastructure.

The new fatalities reported yesterday by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) were farmer Arnold Attiw, 37, and Camille Rasalan, 12.

Attiw was dug up dead from the rubble of a landslide in sitio Nabalicong, barangay Natubleng, Buguias town in Benguet on Wednesday afternoon while Rasalan was hit by a fallen tamarind tree in Pennarubia town in Abra yesterday, said Engr. Jojo Valera of the OCD-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Typhoon Karen also claimed the life of a man in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur according to Chief Inspector Satur Ediong, Cabugao police chief, who identified the victim as Jesus Palia of barangay Aragan.

Palia’s body was recovered at barangay Alinaay yesterday morning.

Meantime, two men from a coastal village in Santa, Ilocos Sur were declared missing last night.

Vice Mayor Jesus Bueno Jr. identified them as Raymund Ancheta and Agrifino Caballa of barangay Rancho.

An unidentified boy in Alilem town was also declared missing.

He reportedly left home at the height of the typhoon last Wednesday to look for his goat.

In Ilocos Norte, two persons were reported missing after they were swept away by strong currents of the river.

They were identified as Dionisio Tumamao, 50, a resident of Nagrebcan, San Nicolas town and Alfonso Alejo, 56, of Macayepyep in Banna town.

Two missing Abra residents were likewise reported – Faustino Balerma (San Juan town) and Isabelo Biyok (Tineg town) as the Abra River overflowed during the uproar of Karen in the province.

Karen, which brought strong winds and heavy downpour, was earlier reported to have claimed five lives.

These were Mark Anthony Somera, one, and his brothers Lester, 3 and Alvin, 10, all of Itogon, Benguet; Petra Katalar, 72 of Baguio City; and Hilario Badungan, 77, of barangay Porponket, Supiden, La Union.

Also on Wednesday morning, 21-year-old Hesterlee Anne Carpiso was rushed to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center after rescuers dug her up from the landslide in barangay Sta. Escolastica, Baguio City.

Improved weather

Nathaniel Cruz, weather branch chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said Karen was hovering over the South China Sea yesterday and moving towards Southern China where it is expected to make landfall.

“Karen is expected to make landfall over Southern China on Friday,” Cruz said in a telephone interview.

Cruz said no weather disturbance is threatening the country so far.

However, he said Karen would continue to enhance the southwest monsoon or hanging habagat and bring occasional rains over the western sections of Northern and Central Luzon.

He said the rest of the country could expect improved weather starting today until the weekend.

Cruz said Filipinos should brace for nine to 10 more tropical cyclones towards the end of the year.

“Tropical cyclones during the last quarter of the year are more intense,” Cruz said adding these cyclones usually make landfall over Central Luzon and Visayas.

Karen was the 11th tropical cyclone to enter the country this year and the second this month.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the eye of Karen was located based on satellite data at 430 kilometers northwest of Laoag City, packing winds of 140 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph.

Karen was forecast to move west-northwest at 17 kph.

Karen is expected to be at 750 kms northwest of Laoag City or in the vicinity of Hong Kong this afternoon.

Pagasa lifted public storm warning signals in all areas yesterday afternoon.

Damage to infrastructure, agriculture

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) yesterday roughly estimated that the cost of road and infrastructure damage caused by typhoon Karen in the northern part of Luzon amounted to P6.345 million.

In a statement, DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said he received a report that the district and regional offices in the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley Region assessed that the infrastructure damages amounted to P6.345 million.

Ebdane said nine major road networks in the northern and central areas of Luzon were also affected by landslides and floods.

In the Cordillera Region, the Baguio-La Trinidad Road, Kennon Road, Gurel-Bokod-Kabayan Road, Acop-Kapangan-Kibungan-Bakun Road, Baguio-Bontoc Road, Mt. Province-Cagayan Road, Mt. Province-Ilocos Sur Road via Kayan and Mt. Province-Cagayan Road via Kalinga were closed to traffic because of rock and landslides.

In Ilocos, the San Fernando-Bagulin Road along barangay Pias section in San Fernando City in La Union was still not passable to all types of vehicles because of shoulder deep flood as of press time yesterday.

In Cagayan Valley region, the Simpatayo section of San Vicente Road was also closed to traffic due to floods.

Karen’s toll on government infrastructure in Baguio City and in two CAR provinces of Benguet and Mountain Province alone already reached P3.7 million.

Engineer Valera of the OCD-CAR said the P3.7 million initial figures were mostly road networks in Baguio and Benguet either washed out or were eaten up by boulder slides and landslides.

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan has asked the provincial board to declare the province under a “state of calamity.”

Cordillera police director Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin said some 49 families in Bangued living along the Abra River evacuated to the Bangued East Central School in the capital town while 30 more families in Bulbulala East in La Paz town, also in Abra, evacuated to a higher and safer ground in Bangal, Danglas town.

While figures have yet to be received from other provinces, Abra seems to be the hardest hit among the six provinces in the region in terms of damage, Martin said.

Typhoon Karen also destroyed some P1.4 million in farm produce, mostly in the provinces of La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, the OCD reported.

Eugene Cabrera, OCD regional director, said damage to rice and corn was worth around P400,000 while fish damage was at least P1 million.

Cabrera said electric power in the towns of Burgos, Bangui, Banna, Nueva Era and Pasuquin, all in Ilocos Norte, was not yet restored as of press time.  

Havoc in 229 villages

Karen wreaked havoc on 229 villages in Northern Luzon.

National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glenn Rabonza said barangays ravaged by Karen were in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and CAR.

Rabonza said out of 7,078 families displaced by Karen from these  villages, 208 or a total of 930 persons are staying in nine evacuation centers set up by Northern Luzon regional, provincial and municipal disaster officials.

On the other hand, about 1,298 families or 4,131 persons are staying with relatives.

Danger in highlands

The landslides triggered by typhoon Karen again pointed to the danger of living in the highlands.

The most recent geologic hazard map by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau noted several earthquake fault lines crisscrossing the Cordillera including the highland resort city of Baguio, that when “mis-managed” could trigger heavy losses on lives and property.

MGB claimed that seismic hazards from several active earthquake faults like the San Manuel and Digdig Faults and other smaller faults crisscrossing the region and Baguio City are posing danger to everyone.

Mass movements like landslides and rockslides especially along major road systems in the Cordillera continue to be a problem especially during the rainy season, Engr. Neoman dela Cruz of the MGB-CAR said.

All major highways – Kennon Road, Halsema Highway, Naguilian Road, Marcos Highway and the Benguet-Vizcaya Road interconnecting the Cordillera provinces and the rest of Northern Luzon, suffer heavy damages from land and rock slides during heavy downpour and stormy weather. – With Jun Elias, Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan, Teddy Molina, AP