Hundreds stranded, most of Metro Manila flooded

HUNDREDS of passengers were stranded in various ports due to bad weather, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Tuesday, July 17.

In its report, the NDRRMC said as of 12 a.m. Tuesday, a total of 351 passengers were stranded in the ports of Palawan and Cagayan after due to the effect of Tropical Depression Henry.

At least four families or fifteen persons were affected in a barangay in Western Visayas region. The number of affected families may still increase as the weather disturbance continues to bring heavy rain which causes flooding in several areas.

As of 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the following areas were flooded: Barangay Tatalon Roxas District, waist deep and not passable to all types of vehicles; R.Papa Manila northbound, water is at half-tire level and area is not passable to light vehicles; E.Rod Delos Santos Medical City, knee deep water and not passable to all types of vehicles; Doña Carmen, gutter-deep water but passable to all types of vehicles; and Cubao Tunnel Aurora, gutter-deep and passable to all types of vehicles.

Police said several other areas were no longer passable to vehicles due to severe flooding.

Among these were Banawe Retiro, Retiro Biak na Bato, Retiro Don Pepe, Santo Domingo Calamba, Macopa/Biak na Bato A2 retiro and Maria Clara Don Pepe all in Quezon City.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr. said all police units have already activated disaster response units to augment the local disaster response teams.

“PNP disaster response-capable units include, Special Action Force, Maritime Group, Highway Patrol Group, Police Community Relations Group, as well as the Regional Public Safety Battalions, were instructed to coordinate closely with NDRRMC and Local government units for possible enforcement of forced evacuation in flood-stricken areas due to heavy rains,” he said.

“This is one of those seasonal situations when the PNP is called upon to perform public safety operations to save lives,” he added.

Durana said aside from the deployment of additional police personnel for the disaster response, they also prepositioned the equipment and supplies in case TD Henry intensifies more.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Henry made landfall on Monday evening over Camiguin Island, Cagayan as it traversed the Babuyan Group of Islands in Northern Luzon.

Monsoon rains will be experienced over the Metro Manila Zambales, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro Provinces, Palawan and Western part of the country while scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms is expected in other part of the region.

Pagasa said in its 11 a.m. weather bulletin that Henry has continued to move towards outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

It was last spotted 415 kilometers west of Calayan, Cagayan packed with winds of 65 kilometer per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 80 kph. It is currently moving west at 45 kph west towards China. <b>(SunStar Philippines)</b>