‘Tisoy’ kills 17, blows out
Credit to Author: Dempsey Reyes| Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:20:03 +0000
TYPHOON “Tisoy” (international name: “Kammuri”) left 17 people dead as it lost steam and weakened into a severe tropical storm on Wednesday.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) lifted all signals as authorities scrambled to repair downed power and communication lines in the Bicol region.
Officials said five people died in Mindoro, three in Camarines Sur, two in Sorsogon, two in Marinduque, three in Quezon province and one in Ormoc City, Leyte.
Two missing persons were reported — one in Maayon, Capiz and one in Divicalan, Isabela.
Typhoon Tisoy also wreaked havoc on islands and provinces south of Manila on Tuesday, sending nearly 600,000 people fleeing from their homes.
Civil Defense official Mark Timbal said the impact would have been worse if not for the preparations made by communities and local governments.
“We saw an improvement in the behavior of the people who were now more willing to participate in evacuation procedures,” said Timbal, who is the spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
“Social media was a factor, while people also became more concerned over their safety in light of the series of deadly earthquakes that hit the country in recent months,” he added.
“Preemptive evacuation was the key,” said Sher Saises, a Civil Defense official in the central city of Tacloban, ground zero for Super Typhoon “Haiyan,” the country’s deadliest on record, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.
Other Civil Defense officials described how residents, including about half a million from the Bicol region, sought safety from high waves, floods and landslides days before the storm made landfall.
Manila’s airport shut down for 12 hours Tuesday as a precaution, affecting nearly 500 flights, while half the day’s program at the Southeast Asian Games, hosted by Manila and nearby cities, was rescheduled over safety concerns.
The typhoon damaged 6,761 houses, according to the regional Office of Civil Defense.
In Bicol, damage to agriculture was initially pegged at P667.3 million. In Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, an estimated P156.5 million worth of crops were destroyed.
Tisoy weakened into a severe tropical storm as it moved west-northwest towards the West Philippine (South China) Sea on Wednesday, Pagasa said.
It had maximum sustained winds of up to 95 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kph.
It was forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility either later Wednesday or early Thursday.
The weather bureau said Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region and Central Luzon would have moderate with occasional heavy rains because of the northeast monsoon.
WITH FRANZ LEWIN EMBUDO AND AFP