State of calamity in Albay, CamSur

y p h o o n l e n d a pounded the icol Re gion yesterday, prompt ing the pro inces of lbay and Camarines ur to declare a state of calamity.

lenda made landfall o er Rapu Rapu sland in lbay at p.m. yes terday and roared across icol, blowing away rooftops, toppling trees and sending thousands fleeing to e acuation centers.

“ he wind is ery strong, we are really being battered, lbay o . oey alceda said in a tele ision inter iew.

he typhoon is e pected to pass near Met ro Manila this morning as it barrels through

Camarines orte, Camarines ur, ue on, Ri al, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga and ambales.

Residents of etro anila and nearby provinces are advised to brace for strong winds and intense rains. The Philippine Atmospheric, eophysical and Astronomical ervices Administration (PA A A) raised storm warning signal no. over etro anila as of p.m. yesterday.

PA A A senior weather forecaster ori Loi warned residents in areas under signal no. and to watch out for storm surges up to three meters high.

lenda was not e pected to be as strong as Typhoon ilenyo, which hit the metropolis in , according to PA A A deputy administrator Landrico Dalida.

As of p.m., the eye of the typhoon was at ilometers east of Lega pi City, with ma imum sustained winds of ilometers per hour near center and gusts of up to ph.

lenda is e pected to move west northwest at ph.

As of p.m. yesterday, storm signal no. was hoisted over Albay, Batangas, Camarines orte and Camarines ur, Catanduanes, Laguna, arindu ue, asbate including Burias and Ticao Islands, orthern amar, northern part of amar, northern part of eastern amar, ue on including Polillo Island, Ri al and orsogon.

Aside from etro anila, placed under signal no. were southern Aurora, Bataan, Biliran, Bulacan, Cavite, Lubang Island, ueva ci a, Oriental indoro, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Romblon, Tarlac, ambales and the rest of amar, the rest of eastern amar and northern part of Leyte.

ignal no. was up in northern Aurora, Benguet, Camotes Island, northern Cebu including Cebu City, La nion, ueva i caya, Occidental indoro, uirino and the rest of Leyte and southern Leyte.

lenda was forecast to be at m west of inait, Ilocos ur by tomorrow, or outside the Philippine area of responsibility by tomorrow afternoon.

Noy meets disaster officials

President A uino met with disaster officials yesterday at Camp Aguinaldo as lenda pummeled the Bicol region.

A uino and his party proceeded to the conference room of the ational Disaster Ris Reduction and anagement Council where DRR C personnel briefed him on the situation on the ground.

ournalists were not allowed to cover the meeting.

e have to ma e sure that the people who need this information so that they can ta e the correct actions really understand all the information being given e should now everybody who is our partner in alleviating the situation, A uino said.

I reiterate, the ob ective has to be minimi e the casualties and the hardship of our people There is a choice. Let s choose where the people become most safe rather than hope they are safe.

Presidential Communications Operations Office ecretary erminio Coloma r. said the government has mobili ed the regional and local disaster ris reduction management units to ensure the safety of everyone, particularly those living near or within the danger ones.e

Lightning kills woman, son

In Batangas, a woman and her son died when lightning hit them as they were wal ing in the rain induced by lenda onday afternoon in asugbu town.

ercedes rumal, , and her son Anthony, , were on their way home from gathering feed for their cattle when the incident occurred at around p.m. in Barangay Pantalan, uperintendent arlowe Torina, chief of the asugbu police, told The STAR.

The victims were declared dead on arrival at the abe edical Center.

3 fishermen missing

Three fishermen from Catanduanes failed to return home yesterday, a day after they went fishing despite government warnings on Typhoon lenda.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol identified the missing as Romel illarba, o o Idusora, and ylvio Idusora, , all of Barangay Cagdarao, Panganiban town.

The three reportedly went out to fish on onday.

In Albay, five fishermen, also from Catanduanes, were luc y to reach the shores of Tiwi town at the height of the storm yesterday.

Albert Table o, ilberto uinones, esus anibale r., Roberto Tesorero and Romeo Romero are currently under the custody of the local government.

14 rescued off Masbate

The Philippine Coast uard (PC ) on onday afternoon rescued passengers and the captain of a motori ed boat that developed engine trouble while sailing off asbate.

The PC said tevan Cabahug and the passengers were on board M/B Mabie that departed Aroroy town for asbate City onday.

embers of PC - asbate search and rescue team towed the boat to Baleno town with all passengers in safe condition.

Flights cancelled

eventy-three domestic and international flights were cancelled as of p.m. yesterday due to lenda.

lag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) cancelled its flights from Incheon, outh orea ingapore Pusan, outh orea Pudong, China and ong ong, the airport s edia Affairs Division said. – With Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Sheila Crisostomo, Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez, Ed Amoroso, Arnell Ozaeta, Jaime Laude,Rainier Allan Ronda, Rudy Santos, Ric Sapnu, Lalaine Jimenea, Roel Pareño, Francis Elevado, Jun Elias, Iris Gonzales