‘Leon’ now a typhoon; deaths from ‘Kristine’ at 125

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THE death toll from severe tropical storm “Kristine” increased yesterday to 125 persons as authorities braced for the effects of “Leon” which has intensified to typhoon.

Nearly 30 areas, mostly in Luzon, were placed under storm signal warnings No 1 and 2.

Leon was not expected to make landfall in the country but it will bring rains to many areas, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

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PAGASA said Leon will make landfall in the eastern coast of Taiwan on Thursday.

“Leon will be closest to Batanes between Thursday early morning and noon,” PAGASA also said, adding however that it is not ruling out a possible landfall in Batanes.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that of the 125 reported fatalities, only 14 have so far been validated to be directly related to Kristine which left the country last Friday.

The NDRRMC also said 28 remained missing and 115 were injured from Kristine.

Majority of the deaths were recorded in Calabarzon and Bicol which were severely affected by rain-induced landslides and flooding.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Calabarzon reported 72 deaths in the region with 15 missing while the OCD Bicol reported 45 deaths and four missing.

The NDRRMC said Kristine has affected 1,789,276 families (about 7.1 million persons) in 10,181 barangays in 17 regions, led by Bicol where 632,571 families (2.7 million) persons were affected.

Of the total affected population, 205,951 families (935,114 persons) remained displaced. Bicol had the highest number of still-displaced population (93,683 families or 433,346 persons).

The NDRRMC said 225 areas were still flooded of yesterday, led by Calabarzon with 75 areas, Central Luzon with 70, Bicol with 33, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with 31.

STORM SIGNALS

Leon intensified into a typhoon (from severe tropical storm) yesterday morning, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

Eight areas are under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 based on PAGASA’s bulletin issued at 5 p.m. yesterday.

These are Batanes, Babuyan Islands, mainland Cagayan, northern and eastern portions of Isabela, Apayao, the northern portion of Kalinga, northern portion of Abra, and Ilocos Norte.

Eighteen areas were under Signal No. 1 — rest of Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, rest of Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, rest of Abra, Ilocos Sur, La Union, eastern portion of Nueva Ecija, Aurora, northern and eastern portion of Quezon (including Polillo Islands), Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, and northern portion of Sorsogon.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Leon was some 505 km east of Tuguegarao City in Cagayan. It was moving west northwestward at 10 kph, packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and gustiness of up to 185 kph.

FORCED EVACUATION

Defense Secretary and NDRRMC chairman Gilberto Teodoro Jr has ordered forced evacuation of people from “high-risk areas” projected to be affected by Leon.

“Let’s continue to be proactive, especially with Bicol’s current situation, where several towns and cities still remain under water. We always aim for zero casualty in the event of disasters, so we strongly urge the public to heed our protocols,” he said.

The OCD said the Department of Interior and Local Government, a member of the NDRRMC, “acted swiftly by issuing a memorandum that directs all local government units to comply.”

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OCD deputy administrator for administration and education Rafaelito Alejandro IV said the order will be implemented in the Bicol and Cagayan Valley regions.

“They have today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday) to implement this,” he said.

He could not immediately say how many have been evacuated. “Hopefully, we’ll have the number within this afternoon or tomorrow morning,” he said.

Alejandro said the forced evacuation will be implemented based on the hazard map of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

“We have to enforce preemptive evacuation or forced evacuation… We are calling on local government officials to enforce this for their (constituents) safety,” said Alejandro.

OCD administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said more than two million individuals may be affected by Leon.

“The number of families that might be affected or potentially going to be affected is 500,000 plus families or 2.5 million individuals,” said Nepomuceno.

Makati Mayor Abigail Binay said the devastation wrought by Kristine should prompt a review of the country’s National Land Use policy.

Binay, who is in her last term as Makati mayor and is running for senator in the 2025 elections, said most of the reported fatalities due to the typhoon were in areas that can be considered danger zones as they were susceptible to flooding and landslides.

“Our national land use plan needs to be reviewed and updated. We need to delineate danger zones that should be cleared from human settlements and protected areas that need to be cleared from extractive human activities,” Binay said in a statement.

She also appealed to fellow local chief executives to work with national government agencies, the private sector non-government organizations and international groups to access resources and funding to promote sustainable and resilient communities.

ELECTRICITY BILLS

President Marcos Jr. directed the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to study a moratorium on payment of electricity bill and line disconnections in areas under a state of calamity due to Kristine.

The Presidential Communications Office, in a Facebook post yesterday, said the “suspension will cover the period from October to December 2024 and will include flexible payment options to ease the financial burden on affected communities and support their recovery effort.”

Data from the NDRRMC showed 161 cities and municipalities are under a state of calamity.

Over P428 million worth of food and non-food relief packs have been distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to the affected communities.

San Juan City allocated P1 million for Camarines Sur.

“This financial aid reflects the strong bond between San Juan and Camarines Sur, underscoring their commitment to support one another in times of need,” San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said.

US AID

The United States will provide $1.5 million, equivalent to P87 million, worth of assistance to help the Philippine government’s response to affected areas.

US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said the funding will augment ongoing efforts of the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) to deliver assistance to the Bicol region and Batangas province where a landslide caused by Kristine killed over 50 people.

“Through this funding, USAID will provide access to essential services such as clean water, sanitation, emergency shelter, and cash assistance,” Carlson said, adding USAID will also provide logistical support in the management of evacuation centers.

“My heart goes out to all those suffering the devastating effects of tropical storm Kristine. We are working side by side with the Philippine government to bring relief to communities in need,” she added.

Prior to this, the USAID supported the OCD in dispatching 1,500 shelter-grade tarpaulins and 1,500 household relief kits to the Bicol region through a C-130 cargo aircraft provided by the Singaporean government.

The disaster relief items were prepositioned in the OCD humanitarian relief depot at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, one of nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.

DAMAGE

The Department of Education estimated damage to school infrastructure at P3.7 billion, including P2.9 billion for reconstruction of damaged schools and P737.50 to conduct major repairs.

The DepEd said at least 2,500 classrooms were damaged, together with about 27,000  pieces of school infrastructure and 486,600 learning resources equipment like  computers.

At least 1,120 schools are being used as evacuation sites while 888 were flooded or affected by landslides.

Initial cost of damage to the agriculture sector in 11 regions — Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Soccsksargen and Caraga — was at P3.4 billion as of yesterday, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The damage is equivalent to 174,087 metric tons of goods tended by 79,904 farmers and fishers in 76,785 hectares of affected areas.

The National Electrification Administration said that only around 500,000 household connections served by electric cooperatives are yet to be restored. – With Jocelyn Montemayor, Ashzel Hachero, Jed Macapagal, Christian Oineza, and Raymond Africa

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