RESCUERS raced Thursday to reach residents still stranded by flooding in the hard-hit Bicol Region, after torrential rains from Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) submerged villages and killed more than 20 people.
Schools and government offices were shuttered across the northern Philippines as the storm made landfall on Luzon after first paving a trail of destruction south of the capital.
“As of 7 a.m., we have 20 dead (throughout the Bicol Region),” regional police chief BGen. Andre Dizon told reporters Thursday, adding the figure had yet to be finalized. “Most of them drowned or buried in landslides.”
LANDSLIDE CASUALTY This handout photo from the Philippine Coast Guard taken on Oct. 23, 2024, received on Oct. 24, shows rescuers retrieving the body of a resident in Guinobatan, Albay, following a landslide due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. PHOTO BY PCG/AFP
In Naga City and the town of Nabua, rescuers were using boats to reach residents still stranded on rooftops.
“They are seeking assistance through (Facebook) posts and that’s how we learned about them,” Bicol police spokeswoman Luisa Calubaquib said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said more than 2 million people were affected by Kristine, spread across the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Caraga, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Most of the affected people — 1.67 million — came from the Bicol Region.
The Office of Civil Defense, meanwhile, reported a lower death count of 10 as it worked to validate its figures.
More than 1,000 houses were damaged, 92 of them destroyed.
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Residents of San Mateo, Rizal, go against the strong current of the swollen San Mateo River, brought on by the heavy rains spawned by Severe Tropical Storm ;Kristine.’. PHOTIOS BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Some 296 roads and bridges were flooded or impassable.
At least 18 municipalities and cities had declared a state of calamity.
Meanwhile, P21.52 million in assistance was provided to affected families.
More than 30,000 people were forced to evacuate in Bicol on Wednesday, police said, as “unexpectedly high” flooding turned streets into rivers.
Lorie de la Cruz of the state weather bureau said a month’s worth of rainfall had been dumped in the region in a 24-hour window from 8 a.m. on October 22 to the following morning, with Camarines Sur province and Albay province’s Legazpi City particularly hard hit.
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
Volunteers repack relief goods and family kits at the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Resource Operations Center (DSWD-NROC) in Pasay City, Oct. 24, 2024, for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine.’ PHOTOS BY RENE H. DILAN
On Thursday, rescuers were searching for a missing fisherman after a boat sank in the waters off Bulacan province, west of Manila, the local disaster agency said.
“Rescuing people was difficult since the wind was strong and was causing a strong current,” said Geraldine Martinez, a rescue officer in Bulacan’s Obando municipality.
A day earlier, 11 people drowned in floodwaters in the Bicol city of Naga, according to local police chief Erwin Rebellion.
In Quezon province, southeast of the capital, an elderly woman drowned, while a toddler was also killed after falling into a flooded canal, police said.
Manila’s civil defense office reported one person was killed by a falling tree branch.
Kristine gradually decelerated while moving northwestward over Northern Luzon, the state-run weather agency said on Thursday.
By late Thursday, only three Northern Luzon provinces — La Union, Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur — were left under Signal No. 3 while Metro Manila was under Signal No. 1.
Storms and typhoons are common around the region at this time of year.
However, a recent study showed that they are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.
About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people.
In other storm-related news:
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
Rear Admiral Hostillio Arturo Cornelio, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), receives P1 million in cash donations and 1,000 sacks of 25 kilos of rice for victims of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” from Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, through his Chief of Staff Jericho Javier, at the PCG national headquarters in Manila on Oct. 24, 2024,. PHOTOS BY MIKE ALQUINTO
– The Philippine Coast Guard issued a maritime safety advisory on Thursday as Kristine continued to affect various regions across the country, disrupting maritime operations in 136 ports nationwide. A total of 8,786 passengers, truck drivers, and cargo helpers were stranded at various ports, stranding 2,725 rolling cargoes, 142 vessels, and 65 motor bancas and for 351 vessels and 327 motor bancas to take shelter.
– To avoid an overflow due to the rains being dumped by Kristine, at least five major dams had their gates unlocked to release water. Pagasa Administrator Nathaniel Servando said they had to open the control gates of these dams as they were already close to their spilling levels. These included the Ipo Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan; the Ambuklao Dam and the Binga Dam in Benguet province; the Magat Dam in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao; and the Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, the main source of water for Metro Manila and irrigation for its adjoining provinces.
– The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said on Thursday that it has repaired more areas affected by Kristine. In its bulletin at noon, Meralco said about 397,000 customers were still affected by power interruptions, lower than the initial 535,000 customers recorded during 8 a.m. The affected customers are mostly still in the provinces of Cavite and Laguna and in parts of Rizal, Quezon, Batangas, while the rest are in Metro Manila and Bulacan.
– Commercial flight operations resumed at the Bicol International Airport. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Cebgo flight DG6193 Manila-DRP landed successfully at 5:06 a.m. but other flights were still cancelled because of bad weather. There were cancelled flights at Basco Airport, affecting 82 inbound and 69 outbound passengers. Tuguegarao Airport is currently accessible and ready for regular activities. However, all planned commercial and charter flights were not operational on Thursday. At Laoag International Airport, Cebu Pacific flight 5J404/5J405 Manila-Lao-Manila, Philippine Airlines flight PR196/PR197 Manila-Lao-Manila, and PR2198/PR2199 Manila-Lao-Manila were also cancelled on Thursday.
– The Department of Social Welfare and Development reassured Filipinos that the agency will continue to provide immediate assistance to guarantee that no one goes hungry in the days following Kristine’s onslaught. Gatchalian said Bicol’s local government unit has so far received the agency’s request for 50,000 boxes of family food packs to boost their relief efforts for their constituents.
– The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development activated its shelter clusters in areas along the path of Kristine to ensure swift emergency and humanitarian assistance. Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said he already instructed Undersecretary for Disaster Response Randy Escolango to make sure that all necessary measures were in place to extend immediate assistance, especially to the housing beneficiaries affected by the severe tropical storm.
– The Batangas provincial government on Thursday reported that 440 families or 1,557 individuals affected by Kristine left their homes and are staying in 34 evacuation centers.
– Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino emphasized the necessity of provincial evacuation centers to accommodate displaced communities during disasters. “The presence of provincial evacuation centers gives local governments and rescuers more options where to bring evacuees safely,” he said.
– The House of Representatives suspended work on Thursday, because of the weather.
FRANCO JOSE C. BAROÑA, REINA C. TOLENTINO, ARIC JOHN SY CUA, BENJAMIN L. VERGARA, ED PAOLO SALTING, MOISES CRUZ, JAVIER JOE ISMAEL and KRISTINA MARALIT
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