PAGASA weather bureau chief Nathaniel Cruz said that although no tropical cyclone is threatening the country, weather systems such as the northeastern monsoon are responsible for the heavy rains experienced in the Bicol region while the easterly wave is responsible for the heavy rains experienced in the central and southern parts of the country, particularly Visayas and Mindanao.
"We expect Bicol region down to the Visayas and Mindanao areas to experience heavy rains tomorrow," Cruz said, adding that northeastern Mindanao is being keenly observed, particularly the Butuan area, due to its past flooding occurrences this time of the year.
The weather bureau chief, however, assured that a better weather condition will be experienced in the northern part of the country today, including northern Quezon and Quirino provinces. Cruz advised that local government units "should be ready" against flashfloods and landslides especially in areas threatened by heavy rains.
Earlier, two low pressure areas had been spotted by weather forecasters on the east of Mindanao and on the west of Manila. However, both are weak to be elevated into tropical depression.
Meanwhile, residents of the flood-stricken Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro yesterday appealed for more help from the national government and other relief agencies such as the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) as flood waters continue to rise in the area.
Prof. Grace Selda of the Divine Word College (DWC)-Calapan said in a text message that floodwaters continued to rise even at 3:30 a.m. yesterday. "Kawawa at grabe ang kalagayan ng tao rito. Kailangan namin ng tulong ng pamahalaan at ng PNRC," she said.
Selda said many are homeless especially those in Bucayao and the outskirts of Calapan. The houses, she said, are under water and that they do not have electricity and could not get any reception from radio broadcasts. "We are isolated but we were able to send text messages and call through cellular phones," the teacher said.
"People here need food, fresh water, medicine, and clothing. There could be an outbreak of water-borne diseases," Selda appealed through the text message.
Residents said this is the first time this kind of flooding happened in Calapan City because the dike in Bucayao gave way last Tuesday morning.
Water levels were rising after three days of continuous monsoon rain that burst dikes and forced people in low-lying areas to flee homes and farms in three provinces south of Manila, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.
Two people were buried alive in a landslide in Pagbilao, Quezon, disaster officials said.
The OCD added about 60,000 people had been evacuated in Quezon, Camarines Norte and Mindoro Oriental provinces.
At Villamor Air Base, the Philippine Air Force dispatched two helicopters to Calapan City yesterday to assist in rescue efforts in the flood ravaged town.
PAF chief Lt. Gen. Jose L. Reyes deployed a Huey UH-1H helicopter as well as a Sikorsky chopper from the 505th Search and Rescue Group to assists in rescue efforts in the Southern Luzon town after heavy rains last Wednesday washed out a protective dike that cause flooding in the low lying areas of Calapan.
PAF spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla disclosed that torrential rains overflowed the Bucayao River and damaged a protective dike in Barangay Del Pilar in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
The floodwaters caused damage to houses and rendered the roads in Barangays Biga, Bucayao and other adjacent areas inaccessible to light vehicles.
Using rubber boats to reach stranded residents, the PAF search and rescue teams airlifted them to the evacuation center in Calapan.
As of yesterday afternoon, a total of 65 residents were rescued from floodwaters. (with reports by Joel Atencio, Anjo Perez, Louie Perez, and Reuters)
