Severe Tropical Storm ''Kristine" to leave PAR, leaves at least 21 dead
Severe Tropical Storm "Kristine" is about to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Friday after crossing Northern Luzon on Thursday, but left many deaths mostly in Bicol and floods in other provinces in Calabarzon.
''Kristine'' had winds of up to 95 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 115 kilometers per hour. State weather forecasters are not ruling out a possibility that ''Kristine'' will return to the Philippines on Sunday or Monday due to the presence of another low pressure area.
The Bicol Regional Police said at least 21 persons died, with eight perishing in Naga City, the capital of Camarines Sur.
President Ferdinand Marcos ordered concerned government agencies to ramp up aid in flood-hit localities in a meeting in Malacanang on Thursday.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said Marcos wanted the deployment of medical aid in Naga City.
"He personally instructed me to ramp up preparations for the provision of emergency field hospitals and medicines, which shall be deployed in Naga and all other affected areas as soon as conditions improve," Remulla said in a statement.
A state of calamity was declared in Cavite while Batangas reported some areas were flooded.
Classes and government work were suspended for the second whole day on Thursday in Metro Manila.
In its 5 pm bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said ''Kristine'' is over the coastal waters of southern Ilocos Sur, with Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No.3 up over Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan.
Metro Manila, which was under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2, was down to Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal Number 1 in the evening after a day of moderate to heavy rains.
As the weather began to improve in Bicol, the picture of devastation was starting to get clear.
Ernesto Elcamel, the head of Naga City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO), told dzBB that 30 percent of the total population of Naga City were affected by the typhoon equivalent to "50 thousand families or 175 thousand individuals".
"As of now there are around 6,400 individuals inside evacuation centers" Elcamel added. He said that they rescued around 10,000 individuals but some refused to take shelter inside evacuation centers and only wanted to receive food.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, in its 8 am report, said there were seven dead, four injured, and seven missing.
Around 431,738 families equivalent to 2,077,643 were person were affected by "Kristine".
Around 196,061 persons were displaced. Meanwhile, 191 areas were flooded nationwide while 299 roads and 41 bridges were damaged.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal 2 is up at Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao, Kalinga, Abra, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan.
Areas placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal 1 are Batanes, Rizal, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, the northern portion of mainland Palawan (El Nido, Taytay, Araceli, San Vicente, Dumaran, Roxas) including Calamian Islands, Cuyo, and, Kalayaan Islands, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, and Masbate including Ticao and Burias Islands in Luzon and Aklan, Capiz, Antique including Caluya Islands, Iloilo, Bantayan Islands, Northern Samar, the northern portion of Samar (Calbayog City, Almagro, Tagapul-An, Santo Nino) in Visayas. Marie Manalili/DMS
