Baguio briefly isolated; Vigan houses damaged
TYPHOON “Ompong” left a trail of damage in two major tourist destinations in Northern Luzon – Baguio City and Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Four roads leading to Baguio City were closed, due to heavy rains and landslides in the area, according to the Public Information Agency of Cordillera: Kennon Road, Marcos Highway, Halsema Highway, and Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road.
Lt. Col. Chamberlagne Esmino, spokesman of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) based in Baguio City, said only Naguilian Road had been opened after it experienced a minor landslide incident causing rocks to block the road.
Esmino also said there was a landslide near Loakan Airport. A house was also hit by falling rocks within the Loakan area, leaving one family trapped.
Based on the situational report of
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), Baguio City was still on red alert status, along with Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province.
Ruben Carandang, OCD-CAR director, said there were a total of six dead, two injured and eight missing.
But according to the Philippine National Police in Baguio, the death toll in the city had risen to eight.
The OCD-CAR suspended tourism activities.
On Sunday, Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan declared that classes in all levels in the city on Monday were canceled.
“While Administrative Order
- pending classes from pre-school to senior high school from September 17-21, 2018 to pave the way for the conduct of the 2018 Batang Pinoy National Finals, we are issuing today Administrative Order 133 suspending classes in the tertiary level including technical vocational and graduate school to pave the way for the conduct of cleanup activities after the onslaught of typhoon Ompong,” Domogan said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
In Vigan, Ilocos Sur, which was given the distinction of a Heritage City by Unesco, Spanish colonial houses were badly hit by the storm, destroying windows and roofs.
The Philippine Red Cross said in a Facebook post on Saturday the storm had also damaged lampposts and establishments in the city.
No fatalities were reported in Vigan.
On Sunday, Ilocos Sur governor Ryan Luis Singson declared that there would be no classes in all levels (public and private) in the province, due to recovery efforts.