Paeng unleashes heavy rain, flooding as it plows PH

As Typhoon Paeng approaches, it left at least 31 dead in Southern PH, more rains to come within 24 hours.

Thousands are evacuated due to heavy downpour of rain caused by the approaching Tropical Storm Paeng (Nalgae) which is expected to make landfall in the Visayas region.

According to local authorities, landslides and flooding have killed at least 31 people and nine others remain missing as heavy rain from the approaching Tropical Storm Paeng lashed the southern Philippines.

Torrential rain storms resulting in flash floods overnight carried uprooted trees, rocks and mud into several rural communities of some municipalities in Maguindanao province, in the Mindanao region.

MINDANAO FLOODING, DEATHS

Reports said that many residents were surprised by the rapidly rising floodwaters, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Mindanao civil defense Naguib Sinarimbo, chief for the regional government, said on Friday.

Sinarimbo said that “The amount of rainwater that came down overnight was unusually heavy and flowed down mountainsides and swelled rivers,”

He explained that most of the victims were swept away by floodwaters and drowned, or were hit by debris-laden mudslides.

The civil defense chief confirmed the death toll in the storm-hit areas had jumped to 31 from the earlier record of 13 fatalities.

“The water started entering the houses before dawn,” Sinarimbo said.

Rescuers retrieved 16 bodies from the Datu Odin Sinsuat town, 10 from Datu Blah Sinsuat and five from Upi town, Sinarimbo added.

Rescue teams in rubber boats and emergency teams, including military units, were also deployed to other areas where flooding and landslides had been reported.

The army deployed trucks to collect stranded residents in the Cotabato area and eight nearby towns.

Rescuers reportedly were shocked to see municipalities which had never flooded, but now soaked in flood waters.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the rain storms were related to Tropical Storm Paeng now heading towards the northern Philippines.

At least 5,000 people have been evacuated from flood and landslide-prone areas ahead of Paeng’s expected landfall on Saturday or Sunday in the Visayas region, which will also affect the Bicol Region.

BICOL REGION

Meanwhile, In the Bicol Region, as Paeng further builds up, the local government units of Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate have already ordered preemptive evacuation.

Albay Governor Noel Rosal ordered the preemptive evacuation of residents in vulnerable communities on Friday morning, October 28, as Bicol region braced for the onslaught of Tropical Storm Paeng.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) banned sea travel to and from the main Bicol coast and outlying island provinces, and in Visayas and Mindanao.

More than 700 persons in Sorsogon and over 1,200 others were stranded in other Bicol ports.

PAGASA placed areas in Bicol and Eastern Visayas under tropical cyclone wind signals 2 early on Friday.

Rosal asked LGUs to aid communities in the eastern and western seaboards of the province, in areas vulnerable to mudslides near gullies, and along steep slopes and areas tagged as vulnerable to flash floods.

Governor Antonio Kho of Masbate also ordered an early suspension of work and preemptive evacuation.

Other provinces, including Sorsogon, also urged residents to head for evacuation centers before floods arrive.

COAST GUARD

The PCG and LGU’s said they would keep a tight watch on fisherfolk, as warnings of high, strong waves have been issued for Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and In Sorsogon province, the Coast Guard said 768 individuals and 237 vehicles were stranded in Matnog town.Catanduanes, and traditional fishing grounds in Quezon province, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar.

A PCG report issued Thursday evening, October 27, said the port was hosting 68 children, 45 seniors and 655 adults, and 181 trucks and 56 light vehicles.

PAGASA said Paeng is likely to intensify in the next 24 hours and would likely cause flooding and rain-induced landslides, and that winds might reach gale-force strength.

Tropical Storm Paeng is forecast to further intensify while moving over the warm waters of the Philippine Sea and may reach severe tropical storm category within 24 hours., the agency said.