MANILA, Philippines?Heavy rains have damaged roads leading to 22 villages in Siruma town in Camarines Sur province, rendering them impassable to light vehicles, as the cloud band that dumped water on the Bicol region, the Visayas and Mindanao is expected to move upward to northeast Luzon.
Eight flights to and from the cities of Legazpi and Naga were canceled on Thursday morning, as rains and floods continued to ravage the Bicol region, airport authorities said.
Mary Amy Gagalac of the Camarines Sur emergency response office said the villages could be reached only by military trucks, which brought supplies to residents who had almost run out of food after days in isolation.
The villages have been experiencing heavy downpour since Jan. 6.
It?s just the beginning of the year, but some parts of the Philippines have already received record-breaking rains, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The death toll and damage to property have been rising. The sustained heavy rain and floods in the country have killed 42 people and damaged crops and infrastructure worth more than P1 billion, disaster officials said on Thursday.
Floods and landslides caused by more than two weeks of heavy rains in late December and January have displaced nearly 400,000 people, Benito Ramos, head of the government?s disaster agency, told reporters.
Most of the dead either drowned or were buried by mudslides, Ramos said. Five people are still missing, including three fishermen.
Affected provinces
About a third of the country?s 80 provinces had been affected by the rains, which have destroyed roads and bridges, small rice and corn farms and houses made of light materials, Ramos said.
Susan Espinueva, chief of PAGASA?s hydrometeorology division, said the cloud band that produced so much rain, was moving toward the upper part of Luzon.
?The convection area is moving to eastern and northeastern Luzon. Although we haven?t received reports of floods there yet, we expect it,? Espinueva said.
A PAGASA advisory Thursday said the dominant weather in Luzon was the northeast monsoon, while Visayas and Mindanao were under the tail end of the cold front.
Espinueva noted that the heavy rains felt on the eastern seaboard was normal during this time of the year. However, the weather system is being aggravated by the La Niña weather phenomenon, which produces more rains than usual in the Philippines.
?We will get rains until next month, possibly until early March, but it won?t always be as intense. There will be lull periods,? she said.
Average surpassed
PAGASA Deputy Administrator Nathaniel Servando said rainfall data from Legazpi City, Southern Leyte and Surigao City had already surpassed the 30-year average rainfall for the month.
The first five days of the year saw 353.2 mm of rainfall in Catbalogan, Southern Leyte. The previous record was 231.5 mm. Maasin, Southern Leyte, received 342.2 mm of rains from Jan. 1 to 5, higher than the past January record of 205.1 mm.
Surigao City had 705 mm of rain. The 30-year record was 600.8 mm.
From Jan. 1 to 13, Albay, the province that was being pummeled by rains since last December, saw 349.9 mm of rainfall. The previous January record was 321.9 mm.
Gagalac identified the 22 isolated villages in Siruma, Camarines Sur?considered upland, coastal and island barangays?as Bagong Sirang, Bahao, Boboan, Butawanan, Cabugao, Fundado, Homestead, La Purisima, Mabuhay, Malaconini, Matandang Siruma, Nalayaan, Pamentan-Bantilan, Pimtan, Poblacion, Salvacion, San Andres, San Ramon, Tandoc, Tongo-Bantigue, Salpa and Vito.
?This problem now affects 3,973 families residing in these areas which are cut off from food resources from nearby municipalities,? Gagalac said.
She said the 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army had already brought 2,000 food packs prepared by her office.
These were loaded on two Army trucks, in addition to the other parcels of food brought there by the emergency response office on Saturday.
Sorsogon alert
In Sorsogon, Gov. Raul R. Lee issued on Wednesday an advisory alerting local disaster officials and residents in the province on possible flash floods and landslides.
Lee made the advisory following reports of minor landslides and floods in various areas of Sorsogon.
The municipalities of Bulan, Prieto Diaz, Casiguran, Juban, Magallanes and Matnog conducted preemptive evacuation of about 1,500 residents in the past few days due to rising water levels of streams and rivers.
In Sorsogon City, a body of an elderly man was found floating at the river bank of Barangay Salvacion on Wednesday morning.
An investigation showed that Ireneo Esplana, 73, slipped and fell into the deeper part of the river, resulting in his drowning.
Damage to agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said rice farmlands in Bicol and the Samar region had been damaged by the heavy rains.
Most of the crops affected were in the middle growth stage, Alcala said. ?Once the floods subside, we will ready replacement seedlings so that they can recover,? he said.
In a report early this week, the agriculture department said about 3,000 hectares of crops in Albay had been destroyed by the rains. Production losses were placed at about P13 million.
The towns of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Manito, Malilipot, Oas, Polangui and Sto. Domingo also saw some farmlands submerged in flood.
Major rice and corn production areas in the north and western part of the country have been spared.
President Benigno Aquino III will visit several flood-hit provinces on Saturday to assess the damage and determine how much money is needed for rebuilding. With reports from Shiena M. Barrameda and Joey Gois, Inquirer Southern Luzon; DJ Yap in Manila; and Reuters
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110114-314306/Heavy-rains-lash-Bicol-cloud-band-moving-up
Movers Del Rey Beach
Movers Union City
Movers Belmont
Movers Pinewood
Eight flights to and from the cities of Legazpi and Naga were canceled on Thursday morning, as rains and floods continued to ravage the Bicol region, airport authorities said.
Mary Amy Gagalac of the Camarines Sur emergency response office said the villages could be reached only by military trucks, which brought supplies to residents who had almost run out of food after days in isolation.
The villages have been experiencing heavy downpour since Jan. 6.
It?s just the beginning of the year, but some parts of the Philippines have already received record-breaking rains, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The death toll and damage to property have been rising. The sustained heavy rain and floods in the country have killed 42 people and damaged crops and infrastructure worth more than P1 billion, disaster officials said on Thursday.
Floods and landslides caused by more than two weeks of heavy rains in late December and January have displaced nearly 400,000 people, Benito Ramos, head of the government?s disaster agency, told reporters.
Most of the dead either drowned or were buried by mudslides, Ramos said. Five people are still missing, including three fishermen.
Affected provinces
About a third of the country?s 80 provinces had been affected by the rains, which have destroyed roads and bridges, small rice and corn farms and houses made of light materials, Ramos said.
Susan Espinueva, chief of PAGASA?s hydrometeorology division, said the cloud band that produced so much rain, was moving toward the upper part of Luzon.
?The convection area is moving to eastern and northeastern Luzon. Although we haven?t received reports of floods there yet, we expect it,? Espinueva said.
A PAGASA advisory Thursday said the dominant weather in Luzon was the northeast monsoon, while Visayas and Mindanao were under the tail end of the cold front.
Espinueva noted that the heavy rains felt on the eastern seaboard was normal during this time of the year. However, the weather system is being aggravated by the La Niña weather phenomenon, which produces more rains than usual in the Philippines.
?We will get rains until next month, possibly until early March, but it won?t always be as intense. There will be lull periods,? she said.
Average surpassed
PAGASA Deputy Administrator Nathaniel Servando said rainfall data from Legazpi City, Southern Leyte and Surigao City had already surpassed the 30-year average rainfall for the month.
The first five days of the year saw 353.2 mm of rainfall in Catbalogan, Southern Leyte. The previous record was 231.5 mm. Maasin, Southern Leyte, received 342.2 mm of rains from Jan. 1 to 5, higher than the past January record of 205.1 mm.
Surigao City had 705 mm of rain. The 30-year record was 600.8 mm.
From Jan. 1 to 13, Albay, the province that was being pummeled by rains since last December, saw 349.9 mm of rainfall. The previous January record was 321.9 mm.
Gagalac identified the 22 isolated villages in Siruma, Camarines Sur?considered upland, coastal and island barangays?as Bagong Sirang, Bahao, Boboan, Butawanan, Cabugao, Fundado, Homestead, La Purisima, Mabuhay, Malaconini, Matandang Siruma, Nalayaan, Pamentan-Bantilan, Pimtan, Poblacion, Salvacion, San Andres, San Ramon, Tandoc, Tongo-Bantigue, Salpa and Vito.
?This problem now affects 3,973 families residing in these areas which are cut off from food resources from nearby municipalities,? Gagalac said.
She said the 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army had already brought 2,000 food packs prepared by her office.
These were loaded on two Army trucks, in addition to the other parcels of food brought there by the emergency response office on Saturday.
Sorsogon alert
In Sorsogon, Gov. Raul R. Lee issued on Wednesday an advisory alerting local disaster officials and residents in the province on possible flash floods and landslides.
Lee made the advisory following reports of minor landslides and floods in various areas of Sorsogon.
The municipalities of Bulan, Prieto Diaz, Casiguran, Juban, Magallanes and Matnog conducted preemptive evacuation of about 1,500 residents in the past few days due to rising water levels of streams and rivers.
In Sorsogon City, a body of an elderly man was found floating at the river bank of Barangay Salvacion on Wednesday morning.
An investigation showed that Ireneo Esplana, 73, slipped and fell into the deeper part of the river, resulting in his drowning.
Damage to agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said rice farmlands in Bicol and the Samar region had been damaged by the heavy rains.
Most of the crops affected were in the middle growth stage, Alcala said. ?Once the floods subside, we will ready replacement seedlings so that they can recover,? he said.
In a report early this week, the agriculture department said about 3,000 hectares of crops in Albay had been destroyed by the rains. Production losses were placed at about P13 million.
The towns of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Manito, Malilipot, Oas, Polangui and Sto. Domingo also saw some farmlands submerged in flood.
Major rice and corn production areas in the north and western part of the country have been spared.
President Benigno Aquino III will visit several flood-hit provinces on Saturday to assess the damage and determine how much money is needed for rebuilding. With reports from Shiena M. Barrameda and Joey Gois, Inquirer Southern Luzon; DJ Yap in Manila; and Reuters
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110114-314306/Heavy-rains-lash-Bicol-cloud-band-moving-up
Movers Del Rey Beach
Movers Union City
Movers Belmont
Movers Pinewood
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