ANOTHER person has died due to typhoon “Bising,” bringing to two the death toll from the cyclone, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said yesterday.
Four areas remained under signal No. 2 — Catanduanes, eastern portions of Cagayan and Isabela, and northern portion of Aurora, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in a bulletin issued at 5 p.m. yesterday.
PAGASA also said 13 areas were under signal No. 1. These are Batanes, Quirino, Apayao, Kalinga, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, the rest of Cagayan and Isabela, and parts of Mountain Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora, and Quezon.
As of 4 p.m yesterday, Bising was some 475 km east of Baler Aurora and was moving north northwestward slowly.
PAGASA said Bising may weaken into a severe tropical storm on Saturday night or Sunday morning. It will move generally northward or northwestward until Thursday morning or afternoon, then northeastward away from the landmass of Luzon until Friday.
Bising is projected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Sunday morning.
The NDRRMC said the second fatality is a 47-year-old female from Catmon town in Cebu, who died of “severe injuries on her chest.” It declined to give her name.
On Monday, the Office of Civil Defense-Eastern Visayas said Alberto Wales, 79, of Barangay San Isidro, St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte, died after he was hit by a fallen tree.
The NDRRMC said one was reported missing, a 40-year-old man from San Jose town in Northern Samar. A 45-year-old man from Catmon town in Cebu was injured.
The NDRRMC said that as of yesterday, some 41,100 families or almost 160,000 persons were pre-emptively evacuated in the Bicol, Eastern Visayas, and Caraga regions.
The NDRRMC also said about 2,500 passengers and 59 vessels are stranded in various ports in Bicol, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas due to suspension of sea travel.
It said 63 cities and municipalities in Bicol, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas experienced power interruption.
The Department of Agriculture’s operations center said almost 60,000 tons of rice worth P1.08 billion and P18.2 million worth of corn (1,411 tons) were saved before Bising hit the country.
As of April 20, Bising has caused P45.93 million worth of losses in the agriculture sector — P35 million for corn and about P8.37 million for rice. — With Jed Macapagal
