Quinta batters Luzon, Visayas; leaves 1 dead, 13 others missing
DISASTER authorities reported a lone fatality and 13 fishermen missing as Typhoon Quinta battered Luzon and a big portion of Visayas hours after it made successive landfalls in Albay in the Bicol region, affecting thousands of people.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported that a yacht with eight people on board sank while a cargo and passenger vessel ran aground on Monday morning, both in Batangas, due to the typhoon, as another ship caught fire in the waters of Cebu.
Quinta, packing strong winds and heavy rains, pummeled a big part of Luzon and the Visayas for hours after it made two succeeding landfalls in Tabaco City and Malinao, both in Albay, triggering widespread flooding and landslides in some of the affected areas.
Power outages were also reported in 69 cities and municipalities in the provinces of Quezon, Camarines Sur, Albay, Masbate, Catanduanes and Sorsogon due to transmission lines that have been damaged, or toppled by strong winds and falling trees.
A number of key bridges and roads in the affected provinces in Luzon and in the Visayas remained impassable due to a combination of flooding and landslide, even as weather forecasters warned on Monday that Quinta’s rains are to peak within 24 hours.
Philippine National Police chief General Camilo Pancratius Cascolan said during a news briefing on Monday that a lone casualty was recorded in Cagayan Valley, as reported by the Police Regional Office 2 (PRO 2).
“We have a total of 40,682 evacuees. PRO 2 has 88, PRO 4A has 3,542, PRO 4B has 571, PRO 5 has 36,456 and PRO 8 has 25,” he said, citing a 6 a.m. consolidated report from all the police regional offices in the typhoon-hit areas.
“For number of infrastructures destroyed, PRO 2 has already 7 and PRO 8 has already 2. Flooded areas, we have PRO 2, 2; PRO3, 49, PRO 4A, 1; PRO 5, 53,” the PNP chief said, adding that at least 16 roads were impassable.
Cascolan said police search and rescue teams were deployed and were assisting residents in affected areas.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesman Mark Timbal said 12 fishermen from Catanduanes are missing in the wake of the typhoon. The fishermen are from Barangay Pananogan in Bato and Barangays Cagdarao, Panganiban and District 3 in Gigmoto, both in the province.
The Catanduanes Provincial Police Office also said that six fishermen from Tabaco City, Albay were rescued by barangay officials in the waters of Barangay Balite and Barangay Talisoy, both of Virac, Catanduanes. A companion of the six fishermen is still missing.
The Coast Guard reported that the yacht MV Oceanic Explorer 3, with eight people aboard, sank near the Keppel Shipyard at Barangay San Roque, Batangas at around 7 a.m., while the MV RORO-12 ran aground an hour later at Bonito Island, Tingloy, Maricaban, also in the province.
Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo said seven of the eight people aboard the Explorer 3 were rescued, while another is the subject of an ongoing search and rescue operations.
Balilo also said that two other vessels Supercat MV Saint Nuriel and Starlite Ferries MV Annapolis ran aground in the waters of Mabini, also in Batangas due to rough sea conditions.
The Coast Guard said at least 577 passengers, truck drivers, cargo helpers, 473 rolling cargoes, 21 vessels and 10 motor bancas were stranded in various ports of Southern Tagalog, Bicol and Eastern Visayas.
Meanwhile, 2nd Infantry Division (2nd ID) spokesman Capt. Jayrald Ternio said that 2nd ID commander Maj. Gen. Greg Almerol has ordered soldiers in Southern Tagalog to ensure the readiness of equipment for humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Almerol issued the order after the government reported that Quinta will traverse the Southern Tagalog region over the weekend, particularly Quezon and Mindoro Island before reaching the West Philippine Sea.
A total of 419 soldiers and 91 military vehicles are on “alert status and ready to be deployed” if the need arises.
Aid for Quinta victims
THE government has allocated over P890 million worth of aid to help those affected by Typhoon Quinta.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been instructed to prepare stockpiles of food and a “stand by fund” for the calamity.
The said assistance has already been distributed to the DSWD Central Office and its different field offices.
“The quick response teams of their field offices is already activated and are now coordinating with municipal disaster risk reduction management offices,” Roque said in an online news briefing on Monday.
Based on its latest update, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said there were already 10,000 people affected by the Typhoon Quinta.
Over half or 5,700 of these individuals are now staying in evacuation centers.
Covid mitigation measures
TO prevent the spread of novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection in these facilities, Roque said the NDRRMC has issued protocols to local government units (LGU).
These guidelines include enforcement of minimum health standards in evacuation centers, which Roque said should also have a portion serving as isolation facility for suspected Covid-19 cases.
The protocols include wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks; body temperature checks and health screening for those entering the evacuation facility, and regular disinfection.
NDRRMC also stressed that “Covid-19 mitigation measures” should be observed during relief goods distributions.
“Mass gatherings are prohibited and the LGUS were advised to put up designated areas [for the distribution] with appropriate safety markings,” Roque said.