NDRRMC: 2 feared dead in Pangasinan landslide

At least two people were feared dead after being buried alive in a landslide in Pangasinan province due to Typhoon Mina (Nanmadol). National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) head Benito Ramos said the incident occurred in Rabon village in San Fabian town. "Yung dalawang biktima magkapatid (The two victims are brothers)," Ramos said in an interview on dzBB radio. Citing initial reports, he identified one as John Rey Bautista, 5. The second was six years old, he added. Both were inside their house when the landslide occurred, Ramos said. He said local police and Office of the Civil Defense teams were trying to dig through the debris to find the two. Mina remained a serious threat to Northern Luzon as it partially hit Cagayan early Saturday. Earlier, power and landlines communication were knocked out in parts of Cagayan province as Mina approached the area. Cagayan social welfare official Bonifacio Cuarteros said power was knocked out shortly before midnight Friday while landlines were out before dawn Saturday. "Before midnight, power was cut off. Landlines went out before dawn," Cuarteros said in an interview on dzBB radio. He also said some families from Caroan and Smart villages in Gonzaga town had been evacuated to safer ground. Ramos said heavy rains were recorded in Cagayan since 10 p.m. Friday. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the eye wall of Mina hit Cabutunan Point at the eastern coast of Gonzaga town around 5:30 a.m. "Once in the eye of the storm, there may be a temporary improvement in weather, and residents may be deceived to believe the worst is over," PAGASA forecaster Sonny Pajarilla warned in a separate interview on dzBB. The NDRRMC said at least two people were reported missing in La Union and Catanduanes due to Mina. The two were identified as:

• Fred Nantes Sr., 48, of Luna, La Union, who went fishing Wednesday. His motor banca capsized off Poro oint in San Fernando City in La Union.
• Nelson Vergara, of Baras, Catanduanes. He went fishing Thursday and residents found his banca empty.

At least 152 families from four villages in Polangui town in Albay had been evacuated, but decamped as of Friday morning. In Negros Occidental, nine houses were destroyed in Barangay 1 in Moises Padilla town. In Eastern Visayas, the NDRRMC said a tornado hit the Culaba Central School in Biliran province, damaging three school buildings and causing P800,000 in damage. In Metro Manila, dzBB’s Allan Gatus reported billboards along some areas in the metropolis have not been taken down yet. — LBG, GMA News