Weather Forecast:


Luzon will experience occasional rains becoming frequent over the western section which may trigger flashfloods and landslides. The western section of Visayas and of Mindanao will have mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.


Synopsis:


Southwest monsoon affecting Luzon. Meanwhile, a Tropical Storm (Int'l Name: GUCHOL) was estimated 1,110 km East of Northern Mindanao (10.5°N, 136.5°E) with maximum sustained winds of 85 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph. It is moving West Northwest at 20 kph. 

LPA leaves 9 dead, 60 missing

Meanwhile, nine people have died and more than 60 others remain missing due to a low-pressure area that brought heavy rains and flooded different parts of the country, an official reported yesterday.

Six of the fatalities figured in a sea mishap in El Nido, Palawan last Tuesday while two were swept away by floods in General Santos City and Sarangani.

The remaining fatality got buried in a landslide in Davao City last Monday.

The latest fatality was Juanito Tito, one of the passengers of M/V Josille II, which capsized off Pagawanin Island in El Nido, Palawan last Tuesday.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos said some fishermen recovered Tito’s body yesterday afternoon.

The other persons who died in the sea accident were Jeccamae Estarija, Pamela Anne Clariza, Nita Huyo, Severino Eliseo and John Aldrin Atienza.

Rescue teams also retrieved on Wednesday night the body of Sweet Jhara Onad, 10, who was buried in a landslide in Davao.

The remaining two fatalities were identified as Segapo Cabigding, 63, who was swept away by flood waters in Glan, Sarangani and Rolando Mata, who drowned in General Santos City. NDRRMC said 62 people remain missing as of yesterday afternoon, 58 of them from Sarangani while five were from Palawan.

Two persons from Kidapawan City suffered injuries during the flash flood.

Ramos said the low-pressure area has affected 17,279 persons or 3,462 families in Davao and SOCCSKSARGEN, displacing 257 families or 1,254 persons who are now staying at evacuation centers.

The floods and landslide also damaged 283 houses and about P1.04-million worth of livestock and crops in the two regions.

The government and the private sector have already provided almost P220,000 worth of assistance to the affected residents.