Pilandok exits today

MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Storm Pilandok is set to exit the Philippine area of responsibility today, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Pilandok was located 1,080 kilometers east-northeast of extreme Northern Luzon, packing winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph while moving west-northwestward at 10 kph.

PAGASA said Pilandok will maintain its strength as a tropical storm and move northwestward until it exits PAR early today.

Despite the exit, occasional rains will still be felt in Ilocos Region, Abra, Benguet, Zambales and Bataan due to the southwest monsoon.

Death toll at 39

The death toll from weather-related incidents since Aug. 1 climbed to 39 after the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported five more fatalities yesterday.

Three of the latest fatalities were from Zambales, including two people who died in a landslide on the Morong, Bataan side of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and another in a separate landslide in Olongapo.

Two other deaths were reported in Pampanga, involving a landslide and a nipa hut that was swept away by strong currents, both in Porac.

The NDRRMC said the latest casualties were attributed to the combined effects of typhoons Luis, Maymay and Neneng and the southwest monsoon since Aug. 1.

Benguet recorded the highest number of deaths with 15, followed by Rizal and Batangas with four each.

Caloocan City had three fatalities, while Quezon and Occidental Mindoro had two each.

La Union, Pangasinan, Oriental Mindoro and Negros Occidental each recorded one death.

Also included in the death toll were passengers of a Toyota Avanza that plunged into the Tarlac River after a portion of the Agana Bridge in Tarlac City collapsed on Aug. 29.

The body of passenger Shanen Tuhao, a resident of Cavite, was found floating in the river in Barangay San Vicente, Bayambang, Pangasinan at around 4 p.m. on Sept. 1.

Before Shanen, the remains of another passenger, James Patrick Taborlupa, was recovered on Aug. 31 in Barangay Carael, Lingayen, Pangasinan.

Two other passengers, Sheila Mae Taborlupa and Paul Harvey Collado, remain missing.

Following the incident in Tarlac, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered a nationwide structural audit of all national bridges following continuous downpours that led to the collapse of two bridges in Tarlac province last week. –  Michael Punongbayan, Adrian Kenneth Halili, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Ric Sapnu, Rainier Allan Ronda,  Emmanuel Tupas