THE death toll from Typhoon Seniang has reached 76 on Wednesday afternoon as police officials reported additional casualties in areas that were battered by a combination of strong rain, flooding and landslides.
Most of the fatalities were reported in the Visayas, which experienced strong rains, along with other areas in Mindanao. The Visayas was hit by Typhoon Ruby last month and the more powerful Supertyphoon Yolanda last year.
Supt. Carlito Abriz, Catbalogan City police chief, said the fatalities from the landslide that struck Barangay Mercedes in that city on Tuesday has already reached 19 and 20 more were injured.
In Leyte, Supt. Edgardo Esmero of the provincial police, said their number of fatalities from Seniang has reached 16, while four others were injured.
Esmero said five people died from the landslide that hit Tanauan town, while four others perished from another landslide that struck a village in Mahaplag.
A total of five people drowned in the towns of Abuyog, Alvera and Burauen, while a total of three others died of electrocution in Dulag, Inopacan and Baybay City.
On the other hand, 12 people died from the massive flood that struck the town of Ronda in Cebu, according to the Central Visayas police command spokesman, Supt. Renato Dugan.
A child and a fisherman drowned in the town of Alcantara and San Francisco, both in Cebu.
Dugan said a woman remained missing in Antequera, Bohol.
On the other hand, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that three people died of electrocution and drowning in Bohol and another two drowned in Compostela Valley.
The NDRRMC also reported that two died in Bukidnon due to drowning and injuries caused by a tree that fell on them while three others perished from landslide and drowning in Misamis Oriental, Butuan City and Agusan del Norte.
Power not fully restored
THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) reported that parts of the Visayas and Mindanao still have blackouts as of Wednesday owing to the typhoon.
In its 5 a.m. update on Wednesday, the NGCP said some areas in the Visayas, particularly Bohol and Negros Oriental, are still disconnected to the grid, while some areas in Mindanao—Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur—remain without power.
The towns of Ubay, Trinidad, San Miguel, Carmen and Dagohoy in Bohol province had no power since December 29. The areas are served by the Bohol Electric Cooperative Inc.
Moreover, the franchise area of Negros Oriental Electric Cooperative Inc.—Dumaguete City and the towns of Bacong, Dauin and Siaton—still has to undergo power restoration after the outage on Tuesday.
In addition, portions of Bacolod City and the towns of Bago, San Enrique, Valladolid and La Carlota in Negros Occidental have yet to be energized.
The areas, which lost power early Tuesday morning, are under the franchise of the Central Negros Electric Cooperatives Inc. and Negros Occidental Electric Cooperatives Inc.
On the other hand, the transmission company has completed the power restoration works in the provinces of Biliran, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar as early as Tuesday morning.
For Leyte, all towns have been reenergized, except the town of Javier.
Some towns in Bohol, namely parts of Loay, Panglao, Garcia, Hernandez, Ubay, Alicia, Guindulman and Candijay have their power restored back on Tuesday.
In Mindanao the NGCP said a huge part of transmission line serving Surigao del Norte “seems to be partially damaged by Seniang as some areas lost power early Monday morning.”
The NGCP noted that the towns affected are Tubod, Mainit, San Francisco, Malimono, Sison, Placer, Claver, Bacuag, Gigaquit, Cantilan, Carrascal, Madrid and the whole Siargao Island.
Storm weakens
SENIANG has weakened into a tropical depression on Wednesday, owing to its land interaction in the Visayas and partly due to the northeast monsoon or hanging amihan, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
In an interview, Weather Forecaster Jun Galang said Seniang was initially weakened by its land interaction in the Visayas, while also being affected by the northeast monsoon.
The northeast monsoon is the cold wind from Siberia that blows into the country, usually from October until March. It weakened the hot-aired weather disturbance, through its cold winds, Galang said.
Pagasa’s 10 a.m. weather bulletin said that Storm Warning Signal No. 2 in Palawan, which was issued early Wednesday morning, has been lowered to Signal No. 1.
Palawan will experience moderate to heavy rains with occasional gusty winds, Galang said. He said that based on its current movement, Seniang will make its landfall in Palawan by Thursday morning.
The state weather bureau warned residents in low-lying and mountainous areas of the province against possible flash floods and landslides.
Palawan is also estimated to experience rainfall amounting between 7.5 millimeter to 15 mm per hour (moderate to heavy) within the 300 kilometer diameter of the weather disturbance.
PNA