TYPHOON “Egay” made landfall yesterday in two islands in Cagayan, where it caused flooding, toppled trees and electric posts, damaged structures and crops, and displaced some 15,000 residents.
The Office of Civil Defense reported one fatality, a female who died in a flashflood in Cardona, Rizal last Monday. Two were reported injured — one in Rizal and one in Aklan.
The northwestern portion of Ilocos Norte was under Signal No. 3 while eight areas are under Signal No. 2 — Cagayan (including Babuyan Islands), Kalinga, Abra, rest of Ilocos Norte, Apayao, northern and central portion of Ilocos Sur, western portion of Mountain Province, and Batanes.
Under Signal No. 1 were 16 areas — Isabela, rest of Mountain Province, Ifugao, Zambales, Pangasinan, Benguet, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, rest of Ilocos Sur, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, northern portion of Bataan, and northern portion of Bulacan.
Egay is forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) this morning. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is monitoring a low pressure area (LPA) that was still outside the country as of 4 p.m. yesterday. The LPA was some 1,615 km east of northeastern Mindanao.
Egay, as of 7 p.m. yesterday, was some 95 km west northwest of Calayan in Cagayan. It was moving northwestward at 15 kph, with maximum sustained winds of 165 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph.
PAGASA said Egay will move generally northwestward or north northwestward, passing over the waters south and southwest of Taiwan, in the next 24 hours.
“Outside the PAR region, Egay will cross the Taiwan Strait and make landfall in the vicinity of Fujian, China on Friday morning,” PAGASA said.
Egay made its first landfall in Fuga Island in Aparri town at 3:10 a.m., and the second at around 9:30 a.m. in Dalupiri Island in Calayan town.
The Cagayan provincial disaster risk reduction and management office reported flooding in several towns in the province. Its chief, Rueli Rapsing, also said the roof of the Sanchez Mira municipal hall was blown away due to Egay’s strong winds which also damaged windows of the town’s evacuation center, forcing authorities to send evacuees to multi-purpose centers of the barangays.
“We’re expecting huge damage to agriculture,” said Rapsing, noting that farmers have just finished heavy planting crops.
Rapsing said flooding were monitored in the towns of Lal-lo, Pamplona and Claveria. He said some bridges were not passable due to flooding.
“There are barangay roads that are impassable but as to roads and bridges, they are passable,” he said.
Rapsing said power outages were reported in the towns of Baggao, Sta Teresita, Gonzaga, Sta Ana, Buguey, and Alcala and in Tuguegarao City. He said power in some of these areas has been restored.
“Hopefully, there will be no further damage to property and infrastructure. We are closely monitoring damage to infrastructure,” he said.
Rapsing said they are on alert for possible swelling of Cagayan rivers, noting that Cagayan is a catch basin for nearby provinces.
The National Electrification Administration said 45 electric cooperatives were affected by Egay, and 26 are in normal operations while 13 are experiencing partial power interruption.
DISPLACED
As of yesterday morning, Rapsing said some 4,854 families or 15,843 individuals have been displaced by Egay. These are from 216 barangays in 22 municipalities.
Edgar Posadas, spokesman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said “no major untoward incident” was so far reported in Cagayan Valley.
“There were uprooted trees, electric posts were toppled and houses made of light materials were damaged. They also have evacuees,” said Posadas.
“But thank God, they have no casualties and their evacuees are being attended to by DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development),” he added.
Posadas said the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Cagayan Valley was able to contact, through satellite phone, authorities at Fuga Island hours after Egay made landfall in the island.
“Based on their initial report (OCD Cagayan Valley), there was no major incident, or major incident or major event that occurred due to the landfall,” he said.
Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said the province’s northern portion was battered by strong winds and heavy rains.
“We have localized flooding especially in the coastal areas and there is damage to crops… As to damage to properties, we are still assessing. There are areas where roofs (of structures) were blown away,” he said.
STATE OF CALAMITY
Mamba said the assessment will serve as basis for him whether to ask the provincial council to declare the province under a state of calamity.
The provincial council of Ilocos Norte placed the province under a state of calamity.
“The declaration of the state of calamity in the province enables the provincial government to mobilize resources swiftly and efficiently to assist the affected residents,” the Ilocos Norte provincial government said in a statement.
“Heavy rainfall, flooding in low-lying areas, power and communication interruptions, and road blockages have been reported throughout the province,” it added.
The Ilocos Norte provincial disaster risk reduction and management office is still assessing the extent of Egay’s damage in the province.
In a press briefing after a meeting with NDRMC officials at Camp Aguinaldo, Defense Secretary and NDRRMC chairman Gilberto Teodoro Jr said they cannot say if the effect of Egay was minimal as assessment is ongoing.
“We are still in the period of rapid response to, number one, serve our displaced countrymen; number two, to ensure that basic services are restored as soon as possible,” he said.
During the meeting, the Office of Civil Defense presented the initial effects of Egay and the southwest it has been enhancing in the past days.
The OCD said 44,356 families or 180,439 individuals have been affected in Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol region, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Soccsksargen.
Of the number, 2,796 families or 11,041 individuals are displaced.
AID
President Marcos Jr., who is in Malaysia for a state visit, said government has on standby P173 million worth of funds, in addition to food and non-food relief items that had been prepositioned to areas within the typhoon’s path.
He said search, rescue, and retrieval personnel from the Armed Forces, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine Coast Guard are also prepared to assist.
Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) showed that 38,991 families or 154,864 persons from the 149 barangays in Regions I (Ilocos), II (Cagayan Valley), III (Central Luzon), IV-A (Calabarzon), IV-b (Mimaropa), VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), and XII (Soccsksargen) are affected.
There are 1,393 families (4,024 persons) which includes the 921 families (3,211 persons) staying in 51 evacuation centers and 472 families (813 persons) temporarily staying with their relatives or friends.
The department said P1.049 million worth of aid had already been provided to the affected families while P2.167 billion composed of funds (P173 million) and stockpiles of food and non-food items (P1.99 billion) are on standby.
DAMAGE TO AGRI
The Department of Agriculture said initial damage to the agriculture sector was placed at P255,000 as of 1 p.m. yesterday, equivalent to 4 metric tons of goods tended by 77 farmers in 40 hectares of affected areas.
The DA also said assistance available for distribution to affected farmers and fishers include rice, corn and assorted vegetable seeds; drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry; and fingerlings assistance to affected fisherfolk from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
The agency said the Survival and Recovery loan program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council with loanable amount of up to P25,000 payable in three years at zero interest also continues aside from a quick response fund for the rehabilitation of affected areas.
AIRPORTS
Airports in Northern Luzon suspended operations, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
CAAP Area Center 1 Manager Ronald Estabillo said airlines were advised to suspend the flight operation in Laoag yesterday until today, July 27 due to heavy rainfall.
CAAP added that flights in Vigan Airport, Lingayen, Baguio, Vigan Airport Rosales Airport, San Fernando and Tuguegarao Airport Basco Airport, Cauayan Airport, and Palanan Airport were also suspended.
According to CAAP, Vigan Airport incurred minimal damage to its facilities while Lingayen Airport’s ramp was flooded due to heavy rainfall. Part of the roof of the airport’s fire station was damaged by strong winds.
Tuguegarao Airport halted flight operations for the day as commercial electricity has been down. Minor flooding at the airport’s taxiway was reported.
Basco Airport, Cauayan Airport, and Palanan Airport continue to experience strong winds and rain. The airports reported no damages to its facilities and commercial electricity remains available.
San Jose Airport’s Cebgo flight to and from Manila has been canceled affecting a total of 155 passengers and Iba Airport continues to experience strong winds and rain but reported no damages to its facilities. — With Jocelyn Montemayor, Jed Macapagal, and Myla Iglesias
