More rains seen as Dolphin enhances monsoon

MANILA, Philippines — A typhoon with international name Dolphin will enhance the southwest monsoon in the coming days, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Dolphin was located 915 kilometers northeast of extreme Northern Luzon, packing winds of 155 kilometers per hour with gusts of 190 kph while moving west-southwest at 15 kph.

PAGASA weather specialist John Manalo said the rainy weather may persist until next week and will only reduce in occurrence.

From Aug. 6 to 7, five areas logged more than 100 millimeters of rain, with Iba, Zambales recording the highest at 158.6 mm. It was followed by Baguio City at 158 mm, La Trinidad, Benguet at 154.4 mm, Olongapo City at 112.4 mm and Dagupan City, Pangasinan at 111.4 mm.

La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, Zambales and Bataan also logged nearly 100 mm of rain in a day.

Orange heavy rainfall warning, or 100 to 200 mm of rain, due to the monsoon is in effect in Ilocos Sur, La Union, Abra, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan and Occidental Mindoro until this afternoon.

Yellow heavy rainfall warning, or 50 to 100 mm of rain, is in effect in Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abra, Benguet, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro and Antique until this afternoon.

From today until tomorrow afternoon, an orange heavy rainfall warning is in effect in Ilocos Sur, La Union, Abra, Benguet and Zambales, while a yellow heavy rainfall warning is in effect in Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Pampanga and Occidental Mindoro.

The continuing rains have affected thousands of families across Luzon, with at least 27,728 people in Central Luzon affected by rains brought by the monsoon, Tropical Depression Luis and Tropical Storm Maymay, according to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Nueva Ecija recorded the highest number at 24,162 people, followed by Aurora with 3,560 and Zambales with six.

Of the total, 2,815 were forced to evacuate to government centers or to their relatives due to flooding.

In La Union, around P11.1 million worth of agricultural crops were destroyed by Luis and Maymay, according to the provincial information office.

Initial damage included P947,846 in rice, P2.03 million in fruits, P7.55 million in vegetables, P2,600 in root crops, P295,110 in fisheries and P300,000 in irrigation facilities.

A total of 411 farmers covering 472.37 hectares were affected, while 15 houses were destroyed and 13 were partially damaged.

In Baguio City, authorities recorded at least 35 storm-related incidents, including 19 fallen or leaning trees, eight incidents involving landslides, soil erosion and rockfalls, two flooding incidents and six cases of damaged power, water and telecommunications lines.

Seven families or 45 people in Barangay San Luis were displaced. One family was housed at the San Luis Evacuation Center while six others sought temporary shelter outside the designated evacuation facility.

The rains from Maymay and the southwest monsoon also caused upstream river swellings in four dams managed by the National Irrigation Administration in the Bulacan-Pampanga area, prompting them to release excess water into downstream river systems.

The affected facilities were the Angat Dam Afterbay Regulatory Dam, also known as Bustos Dam, the Upper Maasim Dam, Lower Maasim Dam 1 and Lower Maasim Dam 2.

NIA Bulacan irrigation management office manager Enrique Carlos said the water releases are only being made “when there is a large amount of incoming water.”

The water level of Angat Dam stood at 158.34 meters as of 2 p.m. yesterday, up from 157.58 meters on Thursday. It remained 1.66 meters below its critical level of 160 meters.

The weather also disrupted air travel, with Cebu Pacific canceling flights 5J 5054 and 5J 5055 between Manila and Narita on Friday due to unfavorable weather at the destination, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines announced.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered police commanders to intensify patrols and assist local government units in disaster response operations.

The directive came after two people were killed and another injured when a landslide buried the kitchen of a restaurant in Barangay Shilan in La Trinidad, Benguet on Thursday.

“Our personnel will remain on the ground to help protect lives, secure affected areas and support search, rescue and relief operations,” said Nartatez.

Police officers vowed to continue assisting in evacuations, maintaining order and delivering humanitarian assistance until conditions in affected communities improve. — Ric Sapnu, Artemio Dumlao, Jun Elias, Rudy Santos, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Emmanuel Tupas