Habagat to continue affecting Luzon, Visayas

MANILA, Philippines — Although the weather slightly improved yesterday, the southwest monsoon will continue to affect Luzon and the Visayas, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Bataan, Ilocos Region and Zambales will have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon, PAGASA said in its weather bulletin as of 4 p.m.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have  partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers due to localized thunderstorms.

Residents in low-lying and mountainous areas were told to be ready for flashfloods and landlsides, respectively.

The coastal waters in the extreme Northern Luzon will be rough.

Damage to agri?at least P37 million worth of crops and livestocks in Central Luzon have been damaged by floods spawned by Typhoon Hanna and the southwest monsoon.

Bataan incurred P19 million and P57,000 worth of damage to palay and livestocks, respectively.

Bulacan, Pampanga and Zambales incurred P555,000; P14 million and P2 million worth of damage to palay, according to Ricardo Jalad, executive officer of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-Office of Civil Defense.

The amount of damage is expected to increase as the agency has yet to receive reports from other flood-affected areas.

Floods in 407 areas subsided as the weather improved yesterday.

The bad weather displaced 17,891 families or 72,112 individuals in Central Luzon, Ilocos and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Mariduque, Romblon and Palawan).

In Pampanga, the high tide worsened flooding in at least 36 villages on Friday.

Among the flooded villages, two were in Apalit, 14 in Masantol and 20 in Macabebe.

The provincial government of La Union raised its disaster status and advised all municipal engineering offices for possible search, rescue, retrieval operations and road clearing.

Health personnel and medical teams were told to prepare for deployment.

Residents in Ilocos Norte were advised to stay indoor during heavy downpour and avoid swimming or getting near rivers and creeks.

For several days, residents on Gigantes Island in Carles, Iloilo were cut off from the mainland due to severe sea conditions.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) sent at least 4,000 food packs through the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Cancelled

The bad weather prompted airport authorities to cancel several domestic and international flights.

More than 3,000 passengers of seagoing vessels were stranded yesterday at 15 ports nationwide due to heavy rain and strong winds.

The PCG said 336 rolling cargoes, 37 vessels and 20 motorboats were stalled in ports as of 4 a.m. yesterday.

Water level up

Heavy rains gradually increased the water level at the Angat and Bustos dams, although Ipo Dam water level dropped by a millimeter yesterday morning.

The Bulacan disaster risk reduction management office said the water level at the Angat increased to 172.56 meters from 170.97 meters the previous day. It is gradually nearing the 180-meter minimum operating level.

Water at the Bustos Dam rose by six millimeter at 17.60 meters compared to the previous day’s 17.54 meters.

From 100.98 on Friday, Ipo Dam’s water elevation slightly decreased to 100.97 meters.

Angat supplies the water needs of Metro Manila households while the Bustos Dam irrigates farmlands in Bulacan and some parts of Pampanga.

The Ipo Dam is used as a water reservoir for Metro Manila’s water concessionaires.

In Pangasinan, the Agno River Basin and its allied rivers are still below the alert level despite intermittent heavy rains in the past few days.

The Agno River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning Centers said light to moderate rains are expected to prevail over the basin until today.

Slow to gradual rise of water levels, particularly in streams or small tributaries as well as in the allied river systems within the basin is expected, authorities said. – With Robertzon Ramirez, Rudy Santos, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Eva Visperas, Ric Sapnu