Overlapping typhoons take their toll on PH

WITH Typhoon Ofel already whipping parts of Northern Luzon, another tropical cyclone named Man-yi (which will be called Pepito) was forecast to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) as a typhoon on Thursday evening, the state-run weather agency said Wednesday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Man-yi, estimated at 1,965 kilometers east of Eastern Visayas, outside the PAR, could become a super typhoon before making landfall over the eastern coast of Luzon Saturday or Sunday.

Most areas in Luzon were at risk of heavy rainfall, severe wind and, possibly, storm surge inundation, the weather bureau said.

The government ordered evacuations ahead of Typhoon Ofel on Wednesday, as the UN disaster office sought $32.9 million in aid for the country after a series of storms killed more than 150 people and said the "overlapping typhoons" kept communities in a state of shock.

The national weather service said Ofel, the archipelago's fifth major storm in three weeks, was likely to make landfall Thursday in Cagayan province on the northeast tip of the main island of Luzon.

Provincial civil defense chief Rueli Rapsing said mayors had been ordered to evacuate residents in vulnerable areas, by force if necessary.

"Under [emergency protocols], all the mayors must implement the forced evacuation, especially for susceptible areas," he said, adding that as many as 40,000 people in the province lived in hazard-prone areas.

The successive storms have taken a toll on the resources of both the government and local households, the UN said late Tuesday.

About 210,000 of those most affected by recent flooding need support for "critical lifesaving and protection efforts over the next three months," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

"Typhoons are overlapping. As soon as communities attempt to recover from the shock, the next tropical storm is already hitting them again," UN Philippines Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez said.

"In this context, the response capacity gets exhausted and budgets depleted."

Officials in Tuguegarao City said rescuers in this city were already suffering from illnesses or experiencing fatigue due to downpours and flooding brought about by a series of typhoons.

Some 33 barangay (villages) are flooded, affecting about 7,000 people.

Roderick Ramirez, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office chief, said their responders were now sick because they could not keep themselves dry.

"The areas where they conduct rescue operations are flooded, and the rain keeps pouring," he said.

Ramirez said some of the people refuse to leave their houses, so rescuers have to go back and forth to persuade them to go, particularly those in low-lying areas or near river banks.

"If there is what you call typhoon fatigue, our people are also suffering from rescue fatigue, and they are getting sicker for having been soaked in water most of the time rescuing and evacuating people," he said.

Ramirez also noted that if possible, because two more typhoons are expected to hit the city, "evacuees should not be sent home yet."

"We are asking barangay officials not to release yet the residents who are at evacuation centers, especially children [as]... they might be swept away by the strong currents," Ramirez said.

Gonzalez urged "resource partners to support the UN effort and fill 'critical funding gaps.'"

The initiative "will help us mobilize the capacities and resources of the humanitarian community to better support government institutions at national, regional and local levels," he added.

Currently packing winds of 120 kilometers an hour, the storm is expected to bring severe winds, heavy rain and rough seas.

More than 28,000 people displaced by recent weather events are still living in evacuation centers operated by local governments, the country's civil defense office said in its latest tally.

Government crews were still working to restore downed power and communication lines and clearing debris from roads.

The UN report highlighted the Philippines' ordeal and emphasized its need for aid.

"Over the past month, the Philippines has endured a relentless series of tropical cyclones, with five major storms already hitting the country and two more expected in the coming weeks. The succession of these severe weather events has placed considerable pressure on local communities and the government's capacity to respond effectively," the UN said.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the storms left 892,800 people in need of assistance and sought funding of $32.9 million for this purpose.

"Over three weeks, three consecutive cyclones have affected nearly 9 million people across 17 of the country's 18 regions. At the peak of displacement, over 700,000 individuals were reported to have left their homes for temporary refuge in evacuation centers, informal settlements and hosted by relatives and friends. The number of casualties has risen with 160 reported deaths, 135 injured and 21 missing," the UN said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that close to 200,000 individuals were affected by Typhoons Nika and Ofel.

In their latest situation report, 52,551 families, or 195,532 persons, were affected by the two storms.

Some 41,163 persons were preemptively evacuated.

A total of 43 areas in Region 2 were said to have flooded, with 13 areas subsided.

Some 325 houses were damaged — 280 partially and 45 totally. A total of P4.24 million in assistance has been provided thus far.

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday ordered the deployment of more family food packs in Northern Luzon.

Gatchalian also noted that Ofel and Pepito would follow a similar path as Tropical Storm Nika, which inflicted damage on the provinces of Aurora in Central Luzon and Isabela and Cagayan in Cagayan Valley.

"We can see that the paths of Ofel and Pepito are going northwards again, so we have to keep pushing more FFPs daily," Gatchalian said.

AFP, ARLIE CALALO, LEANDER C. DOMINGO, ARIC JOHN SY CUA, BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO, FRANCIS EARL CUETO AND MOISES CRUZ