MANILA, Philippines — The death toll from tropical storm “Juaning” rose to 25 while the number of injured reached 31and more than 600,000 people have been affected, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Wednesday as officials have already placed Albay, Catanduanes, and some parts of Camarines Sur under state of calamity.

NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos said 30 people, mostly fishermen whose vessels capsized due to big waves, have been rescued while nine others are still the subject of search and rescue operations.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 5 Director Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said in the Bicol region alone, at least 20 people have died due to “Juaning.”

Alejandro said of the 20 fatalities in the region, nine were reported in Albay, five in Camarines Norte, four in Catanduanes, and two in Camarines Sur. He said some of the victims died in the series of landslides that hit an area in Albay, while the others were due to drowning, electrocution, or was crushed by a fallen tree.

In Camarines Norte, five members of a family died when landslide buried their house at the height of the onslaught of “Juaning” Tuesday night.

The NDRRMC, on the other hand, also reported three deaths in Region 4A – two in Cavite and one in Quezon province; one in Region 4B in Marinduque, and one in Region 6 in Iloilo.

Of the 31 injured, 27 were reported in Iloilo, two in Cavite, and one each in Catanduanes and Albay.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said “Juaning” will continue to dump heavy rains over Luzon, particularly Metro Manila and Mindoro, due to the enhanced southwest monsoon.

Senior Superintendent Victor Deona, deputy regional director for administration of the Bicol regional police, said the landslide occurred in Barangay Sta. Rosa Norte, Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, at around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“Five members of a family died as a result, we are still getting further details like the names and if there are still reported missing,” said Deona.

Bicol region is the hardest hit by “Juaning,” particularly Albay which was virtually cut off from other provinces due to massive flooding.

“Juaning” (international name: Nock-ten) has slightly weakened as it interacted with the rugged terrain of Northern Luzon after it made landfall over Dinalungan, Aurora at about 9:30 a.m. It now packs maximum winds of 85 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph.

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, PAGASA located the eye of “Juaning” 60 kilometers Northeast of Baguio City.

PAGASA’s earlier forecast showed that “Juaning” would make landfall over Polillo Island, Quezon at dawn last Wednesday.

However, the storm slightly shifted course from west-northwest to northwest and slowed down from 15 kph to 11 kph before it made landfall over Dinalungan.

“Juaning” was forecast to move 17 kph Northwest and will traverse Northern Luzon before exiting the landmass of La Union last night.

By Thursday afternoon, “Juaning” is forecast to be 240 km West Northwest of Laoag City and 520 km west of Basco, Batanes on Friday morning.

Areas placed under Signal No. 2 (45-60 kph winds) were Ilocos Norte, Abra, Kalinga, Isabela, Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Ifugao, La Union, Benguet, Nueva Viscaya, and Quirino.

Signal No. 1 was hoisted over Metro Manila, Aurora, Apayao, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Northern Quezon, Zambales, Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Bataan, and Rizal.

PAGASA supervising officer Undersecretary Graciano Yumul said Metro Manila experienced scattered to widespread rains Wednesday afternoon due to the weather disturbance’s huge 500-km cloud band.

He said the concentration of rains was on the eastern section of Luzon on Wednesday afternoon.

On Thursday, rains will be on the western section of Luzon, particularly Mindoro and Metro Manila due to the enhanced southwest monsoon.

The storm will likely move out of the country’s vicinity by 2 a.m. Thursday.

In a related development, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has allotted about P2.08 million to storm-affected local government units (LGUs) in Camarines Sur and Catanduanes.

The DSWD also allotted P2.5 million worth of standby funds and P57.2 million worth of relief supplies for eight regions along the path of “Juaning.”

DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said of the total disaster relief funds, P9.28 million worth of relief assistance has been allotted for Bicol Region (Region 5).

Soliman added that P1,748,328 worth of 1,000 sacks of rice, 500 pieces of blankets, 600 pieces of plastic mats, and 2,000 packs of clothing items were allocated for families affected by “Juaning.”

A total of 250 sacks of rice worth P337,500 were distributed to storm-affected families in Catanduanes.

Soliman said evacuation centers in Albay were opened to accommodate some 4,000 families evacuated from coastal barangays.

In Bulan, Sorsogon, some 152 families with 682 persons are in evacuation centers in Bulan South and Central Schools, while eight families are staying in the Aquino Barangay Hall.

Also in Sorsogon, 43 families in barangays Putiao and Castilla are presently staying at the barangay’s Day Care Centers.

Meanwhile, police search and rescue teams in Luzon and the Visayas were all placed on standby to maximize operations in the areas that would be pounded by severe tropical storm “Juaning.”

Specifically alerted were members of police search and rescue teams as well as the equipment that would be utilized in the operations like rubber boats and large vehicles, said Director General Raul Bacalzo, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Useful after all

For his part, Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., PNP spokesman, said the controversial rubber boats purchased in 2009 will be deployed for rescue and evacuation operations in case of emergency situations.

“They are ready for deployment if situation calls it,” said Cruz in a phone interview.

“The rubber boats are ready for deployment and can be used. The only thing is that the engines cannot be used for long terms since they will damage the rubber boats,” he added.

Supt. Ervin Glenn Provido of the PNP-Maritime Group earlier explained that the purchased 77 rubber boats can only accommodate 40 horsepower engine in their engine board. What the PNP purchased are 60 horsepower engines.

“They can be used. In fact we are already using some of them. The usage, however, is not for long term because the engine will eventually damage the rubber boats because their engine board is only for 40 horsepower, what we have are 60 horsepower engines,” said Provido.

Provido even revealed that 42 of the rubber boats have already been distributed to some parts of Luzon while the remaining 32 are set to be transported to Visayas and Mindanao.

But as far as the PNP leadership is concerned, Cruz said they are hesitant to deploy the rubber boats because they are the subject of investigation, what with the allegations that they are overpriced.

The rubber boats were purchased in 2009 after massive flooding killed more than 500 people in 2009 in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. The investigation is now being handled by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

“We don’t want to use them actually because of the ongoing investigation, we want to preserve them as evidence,” said Cruz.

“But we can always deploy these rubber boats in case of emergency situations like what happened in 2009, the Ondoy incident,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, President Benigno S. Aquino III said he will look into the concern of Albay Governor Joey Salceda regarding the alleged “faulty” reporting of PAGASA.

Aquino, however, said the overall assessment on the weather bureau is they are “on the ball.” (With a report from Madel R. Sabater)