Blackout leaves MRT, LRT commuters stranded

A blackout caused by Typhoon Basyang (international name: Conson) stranded several commuters in Metro Manila as the Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit (LRT/MRT) systems were shut down Wednesday. LRT Administration (LRTA) head Melquiades Robles admitted they have no advisory on when their services will resume for the day. "Base sa latest update namin wala pang supply ng kuryente ang Meralco at di makabigay [ng] tiyak na oras [kung] anong oras ma-resume ang power (Based on our latest update, there is no power from the Manila Electric Co., and we cannot give any timetable on when power can be restored)," Robles said on dzBB radio at 5 a.m. Even if power is restored, he said they will have to check the LRT lines for debris such as galvanized iron sheets.

Meralco earlier said they have no timetable on what time they can restore power to Metro Manila. Power was cut off at 12:42 a.m. Wednesday. "It will take a metrowide brownout to shut us down. In this case metrowide brownout dahil di nag-operate ang substation namin (It will take a metrowide brownout to shut us down. In this case it appears to be metrowide because our substations are all down)," Robles said. Radio dzBB's Denver Trinidad reported several passengers were stranded at the LRT Pasay Rotonda and EDSA stations. Making matters worse for commuters was that there were few public utility vehicles such as buses on the road as of 5 a.m. Meanwhile, in Makati, zero visibility caused a seven-vehicle smashup along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue before dawn Wednesday. A report by radio dzBB's Denver Trinidad said no one was initially reported hurt in the incident, but it left the occupants of the vehicles traumatized. The vehicles involved included three trailer trucks, a taxi, an L-300 van, and a red sedan. In Sucat, Paranaque City, workers sought to clear the road of a girder launcher that collapsed. Floods The National Disaster Coordinating Council reported floods in parts of Quezon City and Manila as of 1 a.m. It said floods were gutter-deep in Tandang Sora and Sangandaan; knee-deep in Delpan-Recto in Manila and Bambang-Abad Santos Avenue; and gutter-deep in P. Guevarra, Lacson Avenue, Espana, and Pureza. 40 flights canceled Meanwhile, 40 domestic and international flights of Philippine Airlines were canceled. Acting PAL spokesman Jonathan Gesmundo said the flights were diverted to other airports. He said the affected flights include those going to Davao, Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Tagbilaran, Tacloban, Dumaguete, Zamboanga, Legazpi, General Santos and Puerto Princesa, and Hong Kong. — RSJ, GMANews.TV