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Residents in flooded CLuzon towns told: Evacuate now


(Updated 9:00 p.m.) Residents in flooded coastal towns in Bulacan and Pampanga provinces have been told to evacuate immediately as a new deluge spawned by Typhoon Quiel may be coming from Nueva Ecija within eight to 10 hours, said Defense Underecretary. Benito Ramos. Ramos is National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director. "Maganda mag-evacuate na tayo ngayon, then say sorry later... I will take responsibility," Ramos said on Saturday in a 3 p.m. news briefing at the NDRRMC headquarters. He said rescue operations will be stopped during night time. Ramos cited the possibility of floodwater from the Cordillera reaching the coastal areas in eight to 10 hours, through Nueva Ecija province. Heavy rain started falling over Northern Luzon after Typhoon Quiel (Nalgae) made landfall in Isabela. Parts of Bulacan and Pampanga are still flooded in the wake of Typhoon Pedring (Nesat). Also, Ramos also urged residents to use materials such as styrofoam to help them stay afloat in case floods hit their communities. Ramos said residents in the towns of Calumpit and Hagonoy Bulacan and in some places in the province of Pampanga should heed local officials' calls to evacuate to safe areas. "Kailangang makinig sila [mga residente] at 'wag nang magpapa-oras habang maliwanag pa... maaaring darating ang baha mula sa Nueva Ecija na dulot ng ulan na dala ng bagyong Quiel ay darating within eight to 10 hours," Ramos said. Also, Ramos said all rescue operations in Bulacan will be stopped at night.
"Mahirap ang rescue operations kung madilim. Delikado para sa mga rescuer. Baka ang rescuer pa ang ating ire-rescue. So, dapat habang maliwanang pa... lumikas na ang mga apektado," he said. Typhoon Quiel made landfall in Isabela around 9 a.m. and was expected to cross five provinces before exiting northern Luzon in the afternoon. Ten provinces were placed under Storm Signal 3. PAGASA said Quiel made landfall over Dinapigue in Isabela packing maximum sustained winds of 160 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 195 kph. The typhoon is forecast to move West at 26 kph and is expected to cross Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Benguet and will exit La Union Saturday afternoon, it added. Ramos, meanwhile, discouraged traveling to Cagayan Valley due to threats of landslides. "Yung mga gustong bumyahe sa Cagayan Valley, mas mabuting ipagpaliban muna nila. Tuluy-tuloy ang mga landslide doon. Ang Dalton Pass isinara na dahil sa landslides," Ramos said. San Roque dam spilling PAGASA flood forecasters said two spill gates of the San Roque dam in Pangasinan were opened Saturday evening because the water in the dam was 2.64 meters above the normal level of 280 meters.
Ten Pangasinan towns along the banks of the Agno River are affected whenever water is spilled from the San Roque dam. Source: PAGASA
First Quiel casualties At least one person was killed while another was injured in a landslide in Mountain Province at the height of Typhoon "Quiel, the Office of the Civil Defense in Cordillera said Saturday evening. OCD-Cordillera head Olive Luces cited initial information indicating the incident occurred along Halsema Highway. "This morning nagkaroon ng landslide sa Halsema Highway. Nagkaroon tayo ng one dead and one injured," she said in an interview on dzBB radio. She did not give further details but a report by radio dzBB's Manny Vargas cited data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showing the incident occurred in the Mountain Province section of the Halsema Highway. A separate report on dzXL radio identified the fatality as Sonny Marcos, and the injured as Melody Gomez. Both are residents of Dugyas in Mountain Province. Pedring's toll Meanwhile, the death toll from typhoon "Pedring" (Nesat) rose to 52 as of Saturday evening, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. At least 63 were injured while 30 were missing. In its 6 p.m. update, the NDRRMC also said the damage to property breached the P6-billion mark The damage to property included P1.035 billion in infrastructure and P5.44 billion in agriculture. Among the damaged infrastructure were the National Center for Mental Health (damaged roof) and Calumpit and Hagonoy District Hospitals in Bulacan (flooded). The NDRRMC said "Pedring" has so far affected 503,915 families or 2,367,161 people in 2,873 villages in 279 towns and 40 cities in 34 provinces. Of these, 37,169 families or 170,279 people are sheltered in 490 evacuation centers. Some 65 bridge and road sections were impassable, including one in Ilocos, 18 in Cagayan Valley, 22 in Central Luzon, three in Southern Luzon, two in Metro Manila, and 17 in Cordillera. Kapuso relief ops Meanwhile, GMA Kapuso Foundation said Saturday that it conducted “continuous relief operations in Calumpit, Bulacan, Candava, Pampanga and Ilagan Isabela." The foundation also issued an urgent appeal for donation of bottled water, ready to eat food such as meal packs, bread, cereal, cup noodles. Donors “can also give rice, canned goods, noodles, clothes, blankets, mats and hygiene products," the foundation added. A total of 6,000 individuals or 1,500 families in Calumpit, Bulacan received packs of relief goods from the GMA Kapuso foundation. — LBG/HS/ELR, GMA News
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